Believe it or not, we are provoking change for good. Especially over the past three years, there has been a massive (and I mean it!) increase of consumers starting to be certain and confident that they have enough power to make the world a better place.
As Jeremy Rifkin well expresses in the III Industrial Revolution, our current generations are part of this tribe of change-makers. The proof is that we are changing our mentality: we no longer want to own (a house, a car…) but we are more inclined to share (realise all the apps available to share a ride, to rent a house, or the zillions of second-hand platforms). We are shifting from the “ownership” to the “sharing” philosophy, from the “profit-driven” to the “purpose-driven”; we are the ones that will make our system go from “Economy” to “Ecology”.
Brands founder coincide on the fact that “There is a deep sense of joy you receive when you see the positive impact your business creates”; to this, we’d like to add that us, consumers, we get goosebumps when we see real data of the number of litres of water, the trees or the greenhouse gas emissions we have reduced just by choosing better.
The positive impact that a toilet paper brand can create
On a personal level, when I like the toilet paper brand Who Gives a Crap. Call me crazy, but everyone needs toilet paper, right? This business is truly making a change in the world (again, thanks to our purchase decisions!). This brand is committed to building toilets around the world, which may seem an obvious thing in the “first world countries”, but is a luxury in the rest of the planet: 2.3 billion people (roughly 40% of the world’s population) don’t have access to a toilet.
So the data of Who Gives a Crap in March 2018:
46,500 people have been provided access to toilets
30,800 trees have been saved using recycled paper – which has avoid the use of:
5,922 tonnes of greenhouse gases emissions
74,000,000 litres of water
5,900 barrels of oil
Credit infographic: OurGoodBrands for Who Gives a Crap
These social entrepreneurs are not only contributing to improving other countries’ economy by enabling access to sanitation or reducing the negative impact on our planet, but they are educating society in many ways. Because does the average know that we literally flush fresh trees down to the toilet? Or that people in other civilised areas of the world do not have access to toilets? Even if you are a full-time traveller you would not be able to see the big picture of what this problem represents.
Now, more than ever, brands have the opportunity to make a business out of a social problem. Building toilets around the world provide dignity, health and improved quality of life. Every $1 invested in sanitation, yields $5,50 in increased economic prosperity. Don’t we all give a crap about it?
The impact of the small: shaking change for good with our daily consumption choices
This brand is an example of how a business can educate us all and share knowledge, as well as providing us with a real and accessible data to the consumers – who are craving to understand the real problems, who are willing to learn how to improve and contribute to a larger scale through better alternatives.
Some people will call you a hypocrite, they will diminish the value of each of your choices, they will want to make you believe that your contribution doesn’t matter if you take into account the many billions of people we are living on this planet. And when that happens the only thing we can encourage you to do is to HELP THEM to get their power back. You know you have it, so keep focusing on the positive, keep creating your good habits.
I have recently travelled to India, and one of the items in my travel kit was a stainless steel straw from the brand everEco. I had to go through a couple of smoothies served with a plastic straw until I had the habit to take it out, and say the famous quote “No straw please!”. Well, I was finally and proudly using it while my fellow colleagues were making comments about my fancy straw “Wow, how cool, where did you get that one from?”. Minutes later, still in the same café, I ordered a second smoothie and I specifically mentioned to the waiter: “Please do not serve me a straw” -pointing out my own one. So basically, what happened is that he came back with another drink, and with another straw!!! It was so frustrating that I said to him “I have asked for no straw, these plastic straws kill the ocean life, the turtles… did you know that?” and I made him take the straw back with him. I was upset because this was an unnecessary waste – and I had just created the record of low time usage of a plastic straw (in average is 15 minutes, mine was 30 seconds).
What was the positive outcome? It had reinforced my values around being more sustainable, but it also triggered that “click” we need to remember more often to ask for a drink with no straw – which is harder than I thought. Again, my colleagues were like “Even if you tell him, you will not change their behaviour – and neither will you be able to change India”. And I said, “If I only got him thinking for 15 seconds about this, and the next person after me happens to create the same situation – we might have an impact on him”. If we don’t try we don’t know. It is our legacy. It is our small contribution and it does matter!
AND furthermore, do you know why the hospitality businesses serve straws in countries such as Bali, Thailand, India…? Because they think it’s tourists’ demand. And over the years, we all together have contributed to this single-use plastic behaviour. If we have made this happen, why not shift it to the other way round?!
Positive change starts with YOU
My question to you is: are you willing to contribute to a larger picture?
I say YES, and my experience is that I have become a happier person – because those who live mindfully, with awareness and in the present moment, truly are more content.
If you want to learn about all those good brands and social entrepreneurs creating positive change in the world and sharing data of YOUR IMPACT, pop-up at ourgoodbrands.com! And remember, if you are a brand working towards an environmental or social issue, sharing your data of impact is KEY for educating your tribe and other potential consumers, as well as building your brand in the most transparent way. You can definitely create more than goosebumps!
Content Written by ‘Maxime Ducker’ Founder and Chief Editor ourgoodbrands.com
The post Educating a society. Why social entrepreneurs & good brands should share their data of impact appeared first on Hemp Life Mag.
source https://hemplifemag.com/educating-a-society-why-social-entrepreneurs-good-brands-should-share-their-data-of-impact/
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