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ColaLife: Nominated by The Design Museum
in London as a Design of the Year 2013, this
global non-profit concept leverages US soft
drinks giant Coca-Cola’s distribution network
to transport medicines to remote areas in
developing countries. "How can it be right
that Coca-Cola reaches remote rural villages
in Africa, yet simple lifesaving medicines for
children don't?” asked founder Simon Berry.
“Instead of blaming Coke, we studied its
success: you can get a product or service to
anywhere in the world if you make
it affordable."
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Whole World Water: Launched in March
2013, this social enterprise tackles water
scarcity by encouraging hotels to replace
imported bottled water with reusable glass
bottles filtered on-site or locally. Global
hospitality brands Soneva and Virgin Hotels
have joined the initiative. “Businesses
can’t continue to be a problem [to the
environment]; the model has to change,” says
Sonu Shivdasani, Soneva’s chief executive.
“Every industry needs to think of itself as a
social enterprise. But social enterprise can’t
just be an exception; it’s going to have to
become a common denominator.”
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Gangs for Good: New York-based shoe brand
Nine West recently launched its Gangs for
Good campaign, which asks groups of girls
to upload videos of themselves doing kind
or charitable works to the brand’s YouTube
channel. The retailer will award the winning
group with gift cards and a trip to New York,
in addition to donating $5,000 to a charity of
their choice.
Compassionate Consumerism
Compassionate retail is not a new notion. LA-
based footwear brand Toms propelled the ‘buy
one, donate one’ business model into popular
consciousness over the past few years. This was
imitated by US shoe brand Skechers’ BOBS
(Benefiting Others By Shoes), donating more than
three million pairs of shoes since its inception.
Similarly, UK supermarket chain Waitrose gives
shoppers plastic discs to slot into a charity box of
their choice. Waitrose then donates money to the
charities in direct proportion to customer votes.
These sorts of initiatives appeal to pro-social
consumers, who are increasingly looking to
brands and businesses for moral road-mapping.
Almost half (47%) of US consumers have bought
a brand at least monthly that supports a cause,
according to Edelman’s Goodpurpose study, which
focused on consumer attitudes.
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The Meal of Shared Responsibility: US fast-
casual restaurant chain Panera launched five
pay-what-you-want cafés called Panera Cares
in 2010. The idea was that those able to over-
pay for their meals would balance out those
with modest means. This year, the company
is extending the concept to 48 cafes in the St
Louis (Missouri) area with a single-menu item
(turkey chilli and sourdough). If successful, the
concept will roll out across 1,600 US locations.
Toms Shoes
© Toms
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Consumer Lifestyle
Cola Life
© ColaLife