Patagonia Becomes an Official “Benefit Corporation”
Patagonia has become one of California’s first “Benefit Corporations”, enabling & requiring it to manage its business in a way that creates both financial and social value. A small, yet significant step toward transforming the ethos of big business.
Some mid-week inspiration courtesy of Charlie Chaplin. 70 years later and the message is as poignant as ever.
FedEx: Sustainable Shipping Isn’t All Fairies & Pixie Dust
A new spot from FedEx (via BBDO NY) is a nice reminder that corporate sustainability communications don’t have to be as dry as the subject matter would suggest.
The spot is set in an enchanted forest where we see the FedEx man living (and singing) in harmony with the trees and various woodland creatures. Then the fantasy is slowly stripped away to reveal a real-life FedEx man driving through a real forest telling us how the company’s electric trucks, recycled shipping materials, and fleet of lower-emissions planes still make for a “pretty enchanted tale.”
Patagonia “declares war on consumerism gone beserk, and admits its own environmental failings.”
(via Ad of the Day: Patagonia Asks You to Please Stop Buying Its Products | Adweek)
WeTopia: What Would Happen If Zynga Made Games For Good?
Instead of spending money to buy a fake online cow, players of WeTopia advance by buying a real cow for real farmers in the developing world.
(via fastcompany)
fastcompany: Benetton Courts Controversy With World Leader Lip-Locks
In a move to reclaim its roots as a proponent of tolerance and regain cultural relevance, The United Colors of Benetton today launched the “Unhate” campaign, which features various world leaders symbolically embracing their differences by locking lips. To demonstrate its dedication to the cause, Benetton formed The Unhate Foundation, which “seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance.”
Well intentioned? Sure. Well executed? Methinks not. Benetton’s stated intention to promote tolerance is valid, timely and credible coming from the brand given its heritage. The execution, however, seems to be designed to stir controversy and publicity for the brand rather than meaningful conversation and action for the cause.
Memo to Benetton: the game has changed since the 80’s. You can’t simply broadcast provocative, high-minded ideas about social change and expect to endear people to your brand. Credit will be given to the brands that affect real change by challenging behaviors - not just grabbing headlines. Perhaps, in time, The Unhate Foundation will be that vehicle for change. We’ll stay tuned to see.
(via fastcompany)
Method: Now Cleans the Ocean and Your Home!
Method has found a way to manufacture new bottles using plastic from the massive island of floating waste known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Method calls the innovation “Ocean PCR plastic,” which the EPA anticipates will help transform the trash in our oceans into usable products while growing the economy and creating jobs. Bravo.
Soon your Puma sneakers & clothing could become food for your garden; Puma is confident that it will be the first to introduce compostable or recyclable clothing in the near future.
Other major shoe brands are working to close the loop in the manufacturing of their products: Timberland recently introduced the Earthkeeper boot, which boasts soles made from 42% recycled rubber and laces made from 100% recycled PET plastic bottles, and New Balance introduced the newSKY sneaker, which is made from 95% recycled PET plastic bottles.
(via Puma aiming to produce compostable trainers and T-shirts | World news | The Guardian)
Method: Designed for Good
Design darling Method recently unveiled Designed for Good - a limited edition series of hand wash that will use “eye-catching, thought-provoking design stories to highlight a continued commitment to caring for people and the planet.”
First up in the series: fancy new packaging intended to call attention to the fact that all of Method’s bottles are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic (or, as the brand calls it, “pre-loved plastic”).
Method won’t say what’s coming next, but it suggests that a cause partnership close to its heart and/or a crowd-sourcing effort is in the works.
Being one of the few brands that does Eco-Marketing well (and always in a quirky, distinctly Method way), I’m looking forward to seeing what else it has up its clever designer sleeves.
PepsiCo Deepens its Commitment to Solving the Water Crisis in India with an $8 Million Donation to Water.org
Last week, PepsiCo announced that it would donate $8 million to Water.org - the largest charitable contribution in the company’s 50-year history. The money will be given as micro-loans (Water.org calls the loans “Water Credits”) to help approximately 800,000 Indian families gain access to water and sanitation by 2016.
PepsiCo previously donated $4.1 million to Water.org in 2008, and has donated a total of $34 million to water-related causes since 2005.
The donations help PepsiCo get closer to its stated goal of achieving water positivity in water-stressed regions - part of its overarching Performance with Purpose mission to deliver “sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and the planet.”
P&G is offering up Mr. Clean’s famously clean-shaven face in support of Movember, an initiative that raises money and awareness for prostate cancer research.
Each “like” on Mr. Clean’s Movember fundraising page or Facebook page = more hairs in the ‘stache. Fans can also donate - so far only $25 has been raised and that modest contribution came from Mr. Clean himself.
The idea itself is clever, but it seems to be little more than a PR move on the brand’s part to associate itself with the cause du jour.
Starbucks Solicits Donations to Create American Jobs
Starbucks customers can now donate money to help create American jobs. How it works: 100% of donations are given as grants to various Community Development Finance Institutions (CFDIs). The CFDIs then provide loans to local businesses and non-profit organizations so that they can hire and retain employees.
For every $5 donation, the CFDIs will give out $35 in grants. For its part, Starbucks is donating $5 million.
To help word about the effort spread and give people a sense of public validation that they did their part, a patriotic wristband with the word “indivisible” printed on it will be given in exchange for a $5 donation.
For people who want to keep track of the program’s progress or make a more significant contribution, they can donate additional money, view success stories of people who’ve directly benefited from the grants or share their own stories on the Create Jobs for USA website or Facebook page.
While this is ultimately a marketing effort that will do little to solve the country’s deep economic woes, I believe that Starbucks should be applauded for elevating this particular issue and using its scale to do good. At a time when unemployment is soaring and Americans are feeling frustrated and helpless, Starbucks is offering people an easy way to make a difference.
Patagonia Challenges Us to Do More With Less
Patagonia is once again raising the bar for what sustainable business looks like - it’s calling on consumers to buy less of its products and repair, reuse or recycle what they already own.
To help with the “reuse” bit, Patagonia is partnering with eBay to enable the buying and selling of used Patagonia apparel through a branded eBay store.
Patagonia also facilitates the repairing and recycling - consumers can send in damaged items for repair, or return items that are no longer usable so that they can be made into new products.
A manifesto film speaks to the bold initiative, which Patagonia calls Common Threads. The film reminds us that “living is not buying…to be a citizen of the earth is to put one’s brief life to the use of one’s dearest gifts”, warns that “our way of doing business has outgrown the planet and now merely runs on reserves”, and asserts that “a new economy must rise in its place that better meets our fundamental needs.” Amen.
It’s easy to see how this initiative could actually result in more sales of Patagonia’s nearly indestructible clothing as people are moved to buy fewer, higher quality items. That could very well be part of the company’s strategy, but I believe that Patagonia has a more ambitious goal in mind: reinventing the way that it does business to better serve society and challenging other companies to do the same.
Buy Good Shirts, Do Good
Would you spend $300,000 on a t-shirt? What if 100% of the purchase price funded a UNICEF charter flight to transport aid to The Horn of Africa? Still too much? Don’t be blue, panda - a measly $24.30 will get you an equally stylish shirt and provide measles vaccinations to 81 kids in need.
In partnership with Threadless & BBH New York, UNICEF hopes to raise much-needed funds to provide aid to The Horn of Africa, which is experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis.
Each shirt depicts a life-saving item of aid and costs the same amount as the price to deliver that item. And you can feel good that every penny went to good use; 100% of the purchase price supports the cause. Get yours here: http://www.threadless.com/UNICEF
Pepsi & 7-Eleven Partner to Feed America
In partnership with 7-Eleven, Pepsi is donating a portion of profits (5 cents) from every 20 oz. Pepsi product sold to benefit Feeding America. The donation is doubled if someone checks in using Facebook Places, and a donation of $20,000 is made to the local Food Bank with the most check-ins.
While the effort appears to be purely tactical, it’s noteworthy that Pepsi chose to align itself with a single cause - a departure from its approach with the Refresh Project where it lets consumers dictate which causes it should support. We’ll have to stay tuned to see if this is the sign of a more significant strategy shift or a one-off POS effort (I suspect the latter).
(Source: brandchannel.com)
