To generate profit, businesses with the aim of curbing social issues is a trend which can be seen in various industries and companies. These businesses ensure that their contribution to tackling social issues is integral to the core of their business; thus their profit goes hand-in-hand with dealing with social challenges.
Warby Parker and Lush are paving the way with this concept.
Below are some of the other companies which are gaining success by solving social issues
TOMS – One for One.
Widely-known for their ‘One-for-One’ concept, which sees the shoe retailer donate one pair of shoes for very pair sold . The success of the brand led to it extending into eyewear and the coffee industry. For every bag sold, TOMS Roosting Co. gives enough clean water for a week to Rwanda, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Malawi – countries from where the company gets its beans. TOMS has opened hybrid café’s in New York, making the ‘One-for-One’ company concept more accessible to the public.
Blue Friday
The eco-friendly outdoor brand, United by Blue, took on the challenge of going against the grain of conspicuous consumption during the widely-practiced Black Friday. The brand focuses on ocean conservation and with every product sold, United by Blue removes one pound of trash from some of the worlds’ oceans and waters. Last year the brand launched their first DIY clean-up initiative titled Blue Friday encouraged consumers to ditch consumption of goods and help clean the environment around them. As an incentive, United by Blue handed out cleaning kits and encouraged participants, on social media, to post the filled trash bag with the caption #bluemovement.
As a token of appreciation from the company, each participant received an UBB X Klean Kanteen steel flask.
Kenco Coffee vs Gangs
In 2015, coffee brand Kenco launched a Coffee vs Gangs pilot project which saw the company training young people in Honduras to become coffee farmers instead of joining gangs. Kenco School of Coffee started by training twenty young people with nineteen completing the course; they have since launched their second programme.
By: Khumo Theko
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Image credits: PRI AND Synder Shoes AND United by Blue AND Kenco
Video credit: TOMS AND Kenco
