Girl Scout Cookies Left Unsold This Year

This year, millions of Girl Scout cookies went unsold — and it’s not because demand for Thin Mints has dwindled. According to a source, the Girl Scout of the USA would be compelled to donate or sell 15 million boxes before their expiration date in a year since local troops around the country suspended their sales routes this year due to COVID safety concerns.

During regular times, the 109-year-old organization sells around 200 million boxes a year, generating $800 million in revenue for programming and camps. Spokesperson Kelly Parisi said, “This is unfortunate, but given this is a girl-driven program and the majority of cookies are sold in-person, it was to be expected.” However, some Girl Scout leaders claim that the excess of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs is due to other factors.

They refer to the civic organization’s falling membership — roughly 1.7 million in 2019, down 30% from a decade ago — as well as an AP article in December exposing child labor in the palm oil used in the cookies. According to the report, some local troops boycotted the sales this year because of the palm oil report, which Parisi said the group is addressing by collaborating with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

Environmentalists have also pointed to the growth of palm oil plantations in Asia as a significant habitat destroyer for endangered creatures such as orangutans. According to the article, some 12 million unsold cookies are waiting at two bakeries that create them — Little Brownies Bakers and ABC Bakers — which assist local troops in donating the boxes to food banks, and the remaining 3 million are in the hands of local forces.

Some troops push people to buy boxes online and donate them to health care providers and other front-line employees. The organization partnered with Grubhub last year to deliver such orders. Some troops even used drones to carry supplies.