8 Companies To Shop That Support Systemic Change In Business
Photo by Paula Watts Photography
As an advocate for social justice, I think a lot about changing the world. The idea of eliminating sex trafficking from the world can seem like an overwhelming mission and one that many of us do not take lightly. We know that to create systemic, sustainable change, it takes a collective force: many people doing one thing differently every day, instead of taking one big solitary action. The future of social enterprise is exciting: so many entrepreneurs are breaking old models, wielding the power of business to make the world a better place. Collectively, with the force of business owners and buyers, sustainable change is possible.
There are thousands of B Corp companies working to solve social issues and make a profit. When we, as consumers, hold companies accountable, companies must change their habits. It is not easy changing people’s habits, but over time, conscious consumerism will be the new normal. These current, shifting times are exposing the dawning of a new business model—business for good. These businesses are part of a movement, similar to the Slow Food movement and other grassroots awareness campaigns where people are stopping to ask: Where is this made? What goes into the manufacturing of the foods I eat, the clothes I wear, the items in my shopping cart and who stands to gain? Who stands to lose?
Altering how we make and buy clothing is not easy; one lesson I learned from my own mother was that easy isn’t always right. At Sudara, we very much care who is crafting our products, and we care about what they’re getting paid, we care about how they’re doing mentally and physically. Our supply chain isn’t a nebulous factory making our pants, our supply chain is the very reason we, here in the US, are working to make the company a success—but we are just one example. The social enterprise movement is turning the reason for making money on its back. This movement is inclusive: consumer, company, stakeholder, maker, everyone has a responsibility to shape this change. We all need to ask more of our favorite brands and make the supply chain transparent.
Socially conscious companies want you to know how your purchase carries more weight than the regular consumer product arriving at your doorstep or being tossed into your shopping cart along with greeting cards and hand soap. People’s lives, the quality of their lives, hangs in the balance on the other side of that purchase. That’s at the core of the work in a social impact business. The everyday choices of shoppers are the key to continued success for any purpose-driven company, and for the causes they serve.
FROM THE EDITOR
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