As profitable as Mother’s Day is for some food and retail businesses, it can also be a painful time of year for a host of reasons ranging from grief over a lost relative to fertility struggles.

In an effort to balance these two facts, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother’s Day — and Father’s Day — email advertising.

Companies familiar to many Canadians, such as Momofuku Goods, Kotn, Reformation, Fable Home and Etsy, are among those that have jumped on the trend in recent years.

“With Mother’s Day approaching, we understand that this can be a sensitive time. At Fable, we want to make sure that our emails bring you joy and comfort, nothing less,” reads a recent communication from dinnerware brand Fable Home.

“If you’d like to opt out of Mother’s Day emails from us, please click here … we just want to give you the option to skip the next few because we’re human too.”

Depending on how you look at it, University of Toronto communication and culture lecturer Daniel Tsai says it’s a show of cynical corporate marketing, an example of companies trying to treat consumers with empathy or something in between.

“From a marketing perspective, you want to be mindful of the interests and sensitivities of your audience or your customers, and a lot of people don’t come from stable families or have great relationships with their mothers and fathers,” Tsai told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Tuesday. “So a day like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day might be very triggering for some.”

On the other hand, Tsai said, the trend also points to the way some brands have mastered social sensitivity in the age of cancel culture.

“With social media, we’re much more politically correct and socially sensitive, and some may say this is part of a woke-type cultural phenomenon,” he said.

‘It is a trigger’

In one of the earlier examples of the trend, British online flower company Bloom & Wild earned a nod in the U.K. Parliament when it made the option available in 2019.

“It has given customers the opportunity to opt out of Mother’s Day emails as it recognizes that it can be a very sensitive time for some,” MP Matt Warman said. “If other companies were to follow suit, the dread — and I do mean dread — around this day might be mitigated for many people.”

He added that Father’s Day marketing should be handled with the same care.

Warman, who lost both of his parents when he was 27, was addressing Parliament about the government’s role in supporting bereaved Britons. It happened that his speech fell on the week of Mother’s Day.

“This week … mothers up and down the country will be appreciated through cards, breakfast in bed, and often questionable artwork from their children. For some, though — myself included — that day is a reminder of what we have lost. To use the modern jargon, it is a trigger.”

Culinary brand Momofuku Goods provided the option for the first time this year and has already seen 10,000 email subscribers opt out of Mother’s Day messaging, according to the company’s retention and lifecycle marketing manager Emma Hughes.

Although it’s a first for Momofuku, it’s a concept Hughes had previously introduced while working with other brands.

“I, like many people, have friends and family members who have lost parents (or) children, struggled with fertility issues, or have complicated relationships with parents that make Mother’s Day (and) Father’s Day a difficult time,” Hughes told CTVNews.ca in an email on Tuesday. “I think it’s important to remember that your email list is filled with many people who could be experiencing similar pain and sadness during these holidays.”

Fable Home introduced the option in 2021 and has had approximately 650 people in Canada and the U.S. opt out of Mother’s Day emails, and another 450 opt out of related texts. The company offers the same option for Father’s Day.

Fable senior marketing specialist Johanna Kuffner said the company — of which 70 per cent of the staff are women — received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from its customers when it introduced the option.

“Many reached out to let us know that they appreciated the gesture, and we’ve continued to do it ever since,” Kuffner stated in an email to CTVNews.ca on Tuesday. 

In the Los Angeles restaurant where Nathaly Paola Castro Torres works, customers never fail to comment on her short stature. “People stare at me too much and make comments or jokes,” Torres, 42, said. “Many times they also (take) photos of me and I don’t like it. I feel very bad.” At four-foot-two (127 centimetres), Torres is a “little person” who isn’t used to such reactions. While she was growing up in Quito, Ecuador, people seldom mentioned her height. She worked at a car dealership, felt embraced by her community, and considered her size an advantage. “Since I was a teenager, I saw my height as (an opportunity) to develop — the growth problem is part of my personality,” Torres told CNN in Spanish. “I am also quite lucky because in reality my body protects me a lot from diseases that other people have every day,” she added. “This height, at the same time as being a limitation, is also a blessing.” Torres has a rare disorder called Laron syndrome that is caused by a genetic mutation. It stunts her growth but also provides a hidden silver lining: Her body is protected from chronic diseases such as cancer that often take life away long before old age. “I wonder what people who make fun of Nathaly would say if they knew she lived in a body that may some day provide information on how to live longer, disease-free lives,” said Valter Longo, professor of gerontology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “We have shown in studies people with Laron have a very low incidence of cancer, diabetes and cognitive decline,” said Longo, who has studied Laron syndrome for nearly 20 years. “Brain scans have shown they have more youthful brains — the equivalent of someone 20 years younger. I have yet to see a case of Alzheimer’s in this population.” And according to a new study published Friday in the journal Med, Torres and other people who have the condition may also be protected from heart disease, Longo said. “It doesn’t mean that they are immune to these diseases, but people with Laron syndrome certainly seem to be very protected,” added Longo, who was a coauthor of the latest research. “This is how powerful this mutation seems to be.” Professors Valter Longo (tallest in back) and Dr. Jaime Guevara-Aguirre (left of Longo) pose with participants of their study on Laron syndrome. (Professor Longo via CNN Newsource) What is Laron syndrome? The first cases of little people who seemed to shrug off disease were identified in Israel in 1958 among children of Jewish immigrants from Yemen and other parts of the Middle East. Today, there may be between 350 and 500 people with Laron syndrome in the United States, Ecuador, Israel, Croatia, Ireland and other European countries, Longo said. In 1987, Dr. Jaime Guevara-Aguirre, then a young physician just starting his career, discovered a group of about 100 people with Laron syndrome scattered across rural towns in Ecuador. Guevara-Aguirre, who was first author of the new report, is the founder of the Institute of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Reproduction in Quito. These people all carried a mutation in their human growth hormone receptor gene, according to Guevara-Aguirre’s research. That genetic disruption blocks the body’s ability to use insulin-like growth factor, or IGF-1, a hormone created primarily in the liver. Growth hormone and IGF-1 work together to promote normal bone and tissue growth, so a deficit stunts growth. People with Laron have IGF-1 in their tissues, where it can be called upon to help heal wounds and other body processes. However, unlike the rest of us, these folks have little of the hormone circulating in their bloodstream, where it wreaks havoc and contributes to aging. Fortunately, the lack of circulating IGF-1 also blocks the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells and creates an extra sensitivity to insulin that protects against diabetes. In 2005, Guevara-Aguirre reached out to Longo, who had been studying a similar mutation in yeast cells that extended their existence. “In addition to yeast cells, worms, flies and mice with similar mutations all live extraordinarily long lives,” Longo said. “Mice with the same mutation we are studying in humans hold the record in longevity — they live 40 per cent longer than mice without it, and 50 per cent of those mice never develop any pathology. So they are living longer and healthier lives.” The two began to collaborate, hoping they might identify a drug that could potentially be used to lower circulating IGF-1 in the general population and provide antiaging and disease-preventive benefits, Longo said. “The idea would be for people who have high circulating IGF-1 levels to get drugs that lower the IGF-1 back to the range that seems to be associated with the lowest mortality rate, much like people take a drug for high cholesterol,” Longo said. A western diet packed with protein and sugar also increases circulating levels of IGF-1, thus hastening aging, Longo said. “There are IGF-1 lowering diets, such as fasting for five days a month, which is called a fasting-mimicking diet,” he said. “We have published studies which found circulating IGF-1 levels remained depressed for a while after doing this.” Guevara-Aguirre and Longo are also looking for funding to provide IGF-1-boosting injections to children in Ecuador born with Laron syndrome. Given during childhood to encourage height, the drugs could then be stopped to allow the mutation’s genetic protection against disease to take over. “So far, the (Ecuadorian) government and pharmaceutical companies will not pay for it,” Longo said. “We are having to do it more slowly with diet, and we have had a bit of success.” New study on heart disease There are health risks connected to Laron syndrome as well. The condition leads to extreme obesity, a trigger for diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other diseases. In addition, many of the people Longo studies “never exercise” and often drink, smoke and reside in disadvantaged communities without adequate health care, he said. Instead of dying from chronic diseases connected to obesity, however, there is an unusually high rate of alcohol- and accident-related deaths as well as convulsive disorders among the Laron population, he said. And because low levels of IGF-1 in those without the mutation have been linked in studies with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, “everybody assumed that people with Laron probably had a lot of heart and cardiovascular problems, too, especially considering their obesity,” he added. To find out, Longo and Guevara-Aguirre examined Torres and 23 others with Laron syndrome and compared them with 27 of their first-degree relatives without the condition, most of whom live in Ecuador. “We found people with Laron certainly do not have an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease despite the fact that they are often obese and live in poor environments, and some markers of cardiovascular disease were even improved,” Longo said. People with Laron in the study had better insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure and no heart rhythm disturbances — all positive outcomes, he said. In addition, people with Laron syndrome had plaque deposits in their arteries of only seven per cent despite having high cholesterol, which typically leads to clogging of the arteries and a higher risk of heart attacks, stroke and other heart diseases. The control group of first-degree relatives, who shared the same diet and lifestyle, had plaque deposits of 30 per cent, Longo said. However, additional signs of cardiovascular wear and tear were absent from the study, leaving some questions unanswered, said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. “Still, I think it’s an interesting and promising study,” said Freeman, who was not involved in the research. “It lays the groundwork to see what we learn from this to reduce harms that affect people as they age.” Hope for the future Torres recently went to the doctor for a checkup. While technically overweight at 100 pounds (45.4 kilograms), she was in good health, with no signs of diabetes or heart disease. “(The doctor) tells me, ‘If you want, you can lose weight, but it’s not a health problem for you, you’re perfect,’” Torres said. “I feel very fortunate and find the response of my body to these other more serious diseases very interesting.” She plans to stay in the United States to take advantage of educational opportunities and to see whether she “can get a chance for a better job, a career.” However, she said she misses her family and the ease of purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables abundant in Ecuador. “I learned is that even though my body is a little more adaptable, I still have to be careful with my diet,” she said. “Because although it is true that we have a health advantage over other people, we do not know for sure to what extent this will protect us.” She also said she’s proud of her role in the research on Laron syndrome. “The objective is to be able to develop some medical help in order to help the rest of the people who struggle with diabetes and cancer, two of the most catastrophic diseases,” she said. “This is my hope.”

Some people love to wash their car, and for others, it’s their most hated chore. It’s a necessity for car owners, so no matter where you fall on the love-hate spectrum, you want a car wash that’s going to give your car a deep clean that lasts. Automatic car washes are at almost any gas…

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Even when you are lucky enough to start with an empty room, it can be overwhelming to design an interior that you can enjoy for years to come. Following some basic interior design principles, you can transform your space into a relaxing room you will be comfortable and happy with. Decide what your focal point will be and build out from there.  For best results, keep proportion and scale in mind as you decorate as well as these tips!

 Deciding on Your Focal Point
Do you have a magnificent bay window with an incredible view?  Is there an ornate mantle that is the reason you fell in love with your home? Or is there something you absolutely MUST HAVE in the room? Situate your furniture around your chosen focal point to create balance and equilibrium. If your room does not already have an existing focal point, create one with oversized art or add an accent point like a free-standing fireplace, they come in a variety of sizes and styles. Symmetrically balance the room evenly so that both sides mirror one another.  This will help your chosen focal point stand out all the more! Use matching accent tables to flank your sofa or use different pieces of furniture to create a copacetic visual impact, like two similar armchairs to balance a sofa.
Repetition for Rhythm
Rhythm creates a flow and helps direct the eye to the differing visual elements in your room. Just as the notes of a favorite song repeat to create the rhythm, repetition in decor will create a rhythm throughout a home. Establish visual interests with a rhythm throughout your space by placing similar colours or patterns at intervals and repeat in artwork, cushions or area rugs.

Perfect Proportion and Suitable Scaling
Who doesn’t love a large, overstuffed chair? But if your room is on the smaller size it may look out of place and make your room seem even smaller than it is. Keep proportion in perspective. Proportion is the ratio between a piece of furniture and the size of a room. Scale is the size of a piece of furniture in relation to the other pieces of furniture in the room. A super large chair will overpower an apartment of loft size sofa or loveseat and create a sense of unbalance in the room.

Have your room humming harmoniously
Creating harmony will enhance how much you will continue to love your finished. Pull the room with a subdued colour palette for a pleasing, harmonious vibe.   together for a pleasing, harmonious look with a subdued color palette. You can also use a single colour for elements that vary in size and shape. Check out our blog on Doing White on White Right! for more tips!

What is the focal point in your room?  What is your best tip to find harmony and balance through your home?