Purchasing power takes on an added meaning when the companies we buy from give back to causes we care about. Making a positive impact with each dollar spent is shopping we can feel good about.
More and more companies are adding charity to their business models, in part because of a new breed of shoppers — millennial and Z generations who are gaining economic force as consumers and as entrepreneurs. Creating socially conscious business ties into their values for authenticity, sustainability and social justice, as reported on growensemble.com, a media and education company that raises awareness about socially conscious companies.
With an ethical marketplace culture continuing to evolve, it’s a win-win situation all around — more sales mean more dollars for charitable organizations that better their communities and the planet.
Here are a few companies grounded in their missions to give back and make a difference.
Photo John Duarte
Toms:
A Footprint Of Distinction
Marketing the casual, comfortable Alpargata slip-on shoe was the first step in the pioneering philanthropic journey for Toms shoes. Since 2006, the company founded by Blake Mycoskie has not only made feet happy, it’s made a positive impact on more than 100 million lives through its original buy-one, give-one strategy and supporting nonprofits around the world, according to its website.
To mark its 15th anniversary, Toms is striding in a different direction with a new impact strategy.
The Certified B Corporation (a company that balances purpose and profit), will commit to giving at least one-third of annual net profits to grassroots organizations. The brand’s Giving Team will identify and work with community partners with a focus on promoting mental health, ending gun violence and increasing access to opportunity. Existing partners include Cities United, which supports a national network of community leaders committed to reducing homicides and shootings of Black men and boys; Homeboy Industries, a gang rehabilitation and re-entry program and Magic Bus, ensuring girls and boys complete their education and build skills to move out of poverty.
“On behalf of the Toms Giving Team, I am thrilled to be able to carry the brand’s legacy in a new and powerful direction with these inspiring grassroots organizations,” says Chief Strategy & Impact Officer Amy Smith. “Toms has been using business to improve lives for 15 years now, and with that experience, plus a whole lot of research and a bit of soul searching, we have learned that there is so much we can do when we come together as a community.”
The company’s 2019-2020 Impact Report shares the stats on what the brand has achieved during the period. Over the past two years, Toms has engaged 71 partners in 28 countries together giving 7,049,436 pairs of shoes along with $4,436,000 in grants. Toms COVID-19 Global Giving Fund directed one-third of net profits for five months, over $2 million, to supporting global COVID-19 relief efforts.
The company’s shoes, apparel, eyewear and coffee are available online and in stores. With an expanded line of shoes including the cushy, thicker-soled Alpargata Mallow, boots and sneakers, in a range of styles, colors and patterns, Toms brand continues to be on-trend as its socially conscious footprint makes its mark.
Tatcha:
Skincare With A Glowing Heart
The skincare company takes a holistic approach to create its face and body products, believing skincare is “a meditative ritual of self-care, with benefits inside and out,” according to its website. Founder Victoria Tsai, looking for a remedy for her skin problems, discovered the simple Japanese approach to beauty: less is more. Tatcha, founded in 2009, creates clean, non-irritating formulas based on traditional Japanese beauty regimens. Using antiaging superfoods like rice, green tea and algae, products like the Rice Polish Classic, a water-activated exfoliant containing rice bran and silk protein, smooth and polish skin. The products, in elegantly designed containers and packaging, can be found online, at exclusive retailers and Sephora.
Tatcha’s philanthropy stems from the brand ethos that “beauty begins in the heart and the mind.”
With a portion of every skincare purchase, Tatcha supports Room to Read, a nonprofit whose mission to promote literacy and gender equality in education in Asia and Africa by creating their Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures education fund.
In 2020 Tatcha funded a study to see how its investment could make an impact in the United States. Starting this year Tatcha is providing books to underserved communities in the U.S. through Room to Read’s literacy initiative. Room to Read has benefited over 18 million children across 16 countries and hopes to reach 40 million children by 2025.
“In 2014, we created the Beautiful Faces, Beautiful Futures fund to keep girls in school to reach their potential through Room to Read Girls’ Education Program, and to bring diverse books to underserved communities in the United States through Room to Read’s U.S. literacy initiative by the end of 2021,” says a company spokesperson. “To date, our support has provided 6 million days of school for Girls’ Education Program students and will soon support the printing and distribution of 70,000 diverse books in the Bay Area with the U.S. literacy initiative.”
Warby Parker:
Seeing A Clear Way To Help Others
Warby Parker has a clear vision of the way the world should be. As anyone who wears prescription eyewear knows, the cost of frames and lenses can be exorbitant. The eyeglass company’s goal is to alleviate visual impairment with style while containing costs with a social mission to help those who don’t have the means or access to vision care and glasses.
The fashionable frames are designed and made in-house, and the company’s initial direct-to-consumer model allows customers to try five pairs of glasses by mail for free.
Founded in 2010 by Neil Blumenthal, David Gilboa, Andy Hunt and Jeff Raider, the company’s social media savvy and brand-building strategy led to success, with 145 retail locations and the company going public at the end of September.
Warby Parker, a Certified B Corporation that balances purpose and profit, has worked with partners worldwide to distribute glasses to those in need through its “Buy A Pair, Give A Pair” program. To date, over 8 million pairs have been given, according to the company website. Due to COVID-19, the program has been temporarily suspended, but as of April 1, 2020, for a portion of Warby Parker glasses purchased, personal protective equipment and preventative health supplies have been donated to healthcare workers and communities in need.
Warby Parker is working to resume its glasses distribution programs safely, and in the meantime is evolving its collaborative partnerships to meet the unprecedented challenges of the times.
Designs That Donate:
Choose Your Charity
Giving back is important to New York jewelry designer Keri Starker, who had often sold her pieces at charity events. Expanding on that idea, Keri and her sister-in-law Farrel Starker developed a concept of “shopping with purpose” with their unique charitable model.
Their company, Designs That Donate, began in 2014 with an online presence and a showroom in Westchester County, New York. It offers a curated collection of goods: apparel, homewares, handbags, jewelry, baby items and much more. Five percent of every purchase is donated to a charity of the buyer’s choice, selected at checkout.
The company also features a Charity of the Month program in which the designated charity gets featured on the Designs That Donate homepage.
Through cross-promotion, that charity drives supporters to Designs That Donate and the charity receives 10% of every sale when the charity is selected at checkout in the selected month.
Designs That Donate also works with charities to put together private sales solely for that cause. These events, arranged by the charity, generate up to 20% of sales back to the cause.
To date, $447,000 has been donated to more than 475 charities, according to its website. Recipients include major national charities as well as more grassroots organizations such as the Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center of Boca Raton; Parkland Cares, which provides mental health services to those affected by the Florida school shooting in 2018; and the Humane Society of Greater Miami.
Delilah Home:
They Called It Puppy Love
Who couldn’t love a company named after a puppy? Delilah Home, founded in Charlotte, North Carolina by Michael Twer in 2019, manufactures a wide range of 100% organic cotton bath, kitchen and beach towels that absorb water easily, have a luxurious feel and are certified to the strict Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS.)
The company was named after the Twer family’s golden retriever mix puppy that survived 62 days lost in the mountains in severe weather.
The story of the community effort to find the beloved pet reflects the values of Delilah Home, says the company website, “sustainability, impact, community.”
Delilah Home also produces sheets, duvet covers and pet beds and has won accolades for its GOTS certified organic hemp bed sheets, including the Good Housekeeping May 2021 “Best Bedding” award and The Wall Street Journal “Worth the Splurge” recommendation in March 2020. Delilah Home textiles do not contain allergenic, carcinogenic or toxic chemicals commonly used in conventional cotton textile production.
Part of 1% for the Planet, a global movement inspiring businesses, individuals and nonprofits to support finding solutions to pressing environmental issues, Delilah Home donates 10% of its profits to local charities that support health, kids and pets.
Through Dec. 31, Delilah Home is partnering with Operation Warm — a national nonprofit that supplies brand-new, high-quality winter coats and shoes for children in need — and donating 10% of all profits.
“At Delilah Home, we are very excited about partnering with Operation Warm as we enter fall and winter,” says CEO Twer. “Our effort is driven by sustainability, impact, and community – these three fundamental pillars drive our efforts to tithe back to the community we serve.”
ThirdLove:
Support you can count on
With messages of body positivity and female empowerment, ThirdLove, an online lingerie brand launched in 2013 by Heidi Zak, her husband David Spector and Chief Creative Officer Ra’el Cohen, takes the anxiety out of shopping for undergarments. The brand upholds its mission to create each design with comfort, proper fit and style in mind. With 80 sizes, half-cup increments, an online quiz to guarantee the perfect fit and free returns, they’ve got you covered.
In 2021, the NPD Group (a market research company) named ThirdLove the “third largest online intimate apparel brand” in the U.S. behind Victoria’s Secret and American Eagle’s Aerie.
ThirdLove is the biggest donor of undergarments in the United States, donating over $40 million of products, according to its website. The company partners with organizations like I Support the Girls, an organization that supplies undergarments and personal hygiene products to homeless women.
In 2020 ThirdLove launched the TL Effect, an initiative that supports women of color-led businesses through monetary grants and mentorship. The three-month program helps entrepreneurs looking to take their consumer-focused early-stage start-up to the next level. ThirdLove is also highlighting and raising brand awareness for these businesses through its social platforms.
The first two recipients of the initiative were Arah Sims of Kyutee whose company celebrates self-expression with press-on nail art; and Tiffany M. Griffin of Bright Black, whose company is creating handcrafted scented candles that honor the Black diaspora.
“Participating in the ThirdLove TL Effect program was a game changer for my business,” says Griffin. “So often entrepreneurs think that access to financial capital is the only thing they need to succeed. Instead, I’ve found that social capital, or access to strong social networks is actually the secret sauce to being a successful entrepreneur — especially in the early stages. Social capital affords you mentoring and access to information, two essential ingredients for success, and this is exactly what I got by participating in the TL Effect program.”
The selection of the next round of TL Effect entrepreneurs is underway.