Who’s up for doing a little shopping, all in the name of Earth Day? Uncommon Goods has joined forces with American Forests for Earth Day – so if you shop with them this week, and use the code AMFOR at checkout, Uncommon Goods will donate $5 to American Forests’ tree-planting efforts. American Forests plants one tree for every dollar donated, so this week, customers can help plant 5 trees every time they shop at Uncommon Goods.
This “Scratch Map” is pretty awesome. You can track your travels by scratching off the areas you’ve visited to reveal adventurous pops of color and local facts. How cool is that?
Now you know I’m kind of picky about where I shop – as I try to avoid items made in sweatshops, etc. So several months ago I contacted Uncommon Goods, asking about the source of their products, and got a super friendly and helpful reply. Some of their products are made in the US, and many of their items made elsewhere in the world are officially “fair trade.” Now would I prefer that all of the items were? Sure, but compared to most companies, Uncommon Goods is ahead of the game. They’re currently working to implement a vendor code of conduct that includes guidelines on fair labor.
But that’s not all: On a broader note, Uncommon Goods is a founding member of B Corporation, as they strongly believe that their business should have a positive social and environmental impact. As a B Corp, we’re committed to a higher level of sustainability— which includes “environmentalism, fair working conditions and a commitment to the community.”
Shouldn’t every company believe in taking care of the planet and the people who inhabit it?
For more information on their commitment to sustainability, check out their mission statement. And a big thank-you goes to Julia in their Media Relations office, who answered all my emails promptly and sincerely.
2 Comments
Jane, you have to check out Michael (the ‘godfather’ of Strategy) Portor’s new article in HBR (find blog link at http://www.bnet.com/blog/harvard/michael-porter-rethinking-capitalism-the-next-major-business-transformation/9499). He asks the same question and comes to the conclusion that capitalism is broken. “How else could companies overlook the well-being of their customers, the depletion of natural resources vital to their businesses, the viability of key suppliers, or the economic distress of the communities in which they produce and sell? How else could companies think that simply shifting activities to locations with ever lower wages was a sustainable ’solution’ to competitive challenges? Government and civil society have often exacerbated the problem by attempting to address social weaknesses at the expense of business. The presumed trade-offs between economic efficiency and social progress have been institutionalized in decades of policy choices.”
C- I will definitely check it out! It blows my mind that so many companies
are comfortable operating while such negative working conditions exist in
many of the third-party factories they use. Anyway, thanks for the link!!