Pity Ivanka Trump. She can’t even shop without her father’s presidential campaign getting in the way, as she learned this week when she received a dose of politics alongside her order from Lady Grey jewelry.
After Trump ordered an $84 “ear cuff” – a golden sleeve for her ear cartilage – from the jewelry designers Jill Martinelli and Sabine Le Guyader, the daughter of the would-be president received a note informing her that the money made from her purchase had been donated to organizations opposing her father’s campaign.
In their note to Trump, the two designers wrote:
Dear Ivanka, Thank you for your web order! We’re happy to let you know that the proceeds of your sale have been generously donated to the American Immigration Council, the Everytown for Gun Safety Organization, and the Hillary Clinton campaign. We hope you enjoy your new Lady Grey #helixcuff. Best, Sabine and Jill.
The note, which was sent to Trump last week, was posted on Instagram on Tuesday. By Thursday afternoon, it had garnered more than 7,300 likes and nearly 3,300 comments. However, not all the comments were positive; some users accused the designers of using Trump’s order as a publicity stunt, and others felt they had behaved unprofessionally.
“While we were flattered to receive an order from Ivanka Trump, our social and political views couldn’t be further from those of the Trump campaign. When we received her order, we instantly felt compelled to take the money and donate it to a few organizations that were more aligned with our ideals – Everytown for Gun Safety, the American Immigration Council, and the Hillary Clinton Campaign,” the duo told the Guardian in a statement.
“We strongly feel that everyone and anyone can make a difference through actively supporting the causes that they believe in, no matter how big or small. We decided to share this letter to make that statement, and hopefully inspire people to follow suit.”
Lady Grey is not the only business donating profits from its business to organizations lobbying for political causes. Just recently, the makers of Cards Against Humanity, an irreverent card game, launched two expansion packs, one for Clinton and one for Trump – but the company made clear from the outset who they were backing.
“We’re letting America choose between two new expansion packs about either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump,” they said. “At the end of this promotion, Cards Against Humanity will tally up the sales of both packs, and depending on which pack gets more support, we will donate all the money in support of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.”
Each pack costs $4. By Thursday afternoon, the Clinton pack had raised more than $170,000, while Trump packs raised $160,000.
In a Q&A about the promotion, the company said that the money raised will be “split between direct, legal contributions to Hillary Clinton’s Pac, contributions to groups opposing Trump, and get out the vote programs in swing states”.
