Giving Back to Grow Your Business

Giving Back to Grow Your Business

The holiday season is nearly here – a time to be thankful, show love, and give back. With this in mind, it is hard not to notice a wonderful trend among EcoEnclose customers: Not only are you mission and eco minded, but many of you also regularly give back through charitable donations or partnerships. These practices are great for the soul and can also be great for business. 90% of global consumers are likely to switch brands to one associated with a good cause, given comparable price and quality!

9 EcoEnclose Companies that Give Back

1. Kindred Black Online destination for luxury lifestyle goods that are eco-responsible, craftsman produced, and ethically manufactured. They are a member of 1% For The Planet, an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet by donating 1% of revenue to sustainability initiatives.

2. Honey & Sage Company Spreads holy wellness to the modern Sage Woman through hand curated care packages. Each product they offer is chosen with the intention to nurture the daily wellness of women. They donate up to 5% of their profits, to organizations as carefully curated as their product line. Currently, donations are going to Circle of Health International, COHI.

3. Lumbr Sustainable wooden eyewear, in stunning styles. For every frame purchased, 50 trees are planted through their reforestation partner, Eden Reforestation Projects.

4. MALA FOREST A not for profit that donates 100% of proceeds from their sales of Mala beads to reforestation partner, Trees for the Future. Read our featured customer blog post to learn more about this nonprofit.

5. Water Gallery Sells exceptional, limited edition, ocean focused, eco-friendly glassware featuring art by Wyland, Guy Harvey, and Drew Brophy. A percentage of sales are donated to organizations such as Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation or Waves for Water.

6. Willa Walker Sells a unique tool to help toddlers learn how to walk, without breaking the backs of the adults guiding them. With every purchase, ten trees are planted.

7. Soul Cyster Creations Designs and produces personalized custom hand-stamped jewelry, keychains, wallet cards and much more, with a special focus on infertility, infant loss, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and military deployments. They often donate a portion of their proceeds, such as 10% of a month’s sales to organizations like the PCOS Challenge.

8. The Wild Unknown Makes tarot cards, animal spirit decks, children's books, and other wonders. They launched the Good Karma Movement, a rallying cry of more than 300 other retails shops and brands insistent on reclaiming the holiday spirit through a shared commitment to donate 5-10% of our revenue to charity. The Movement has collectively donated $50,000 to causes ranging from The Lower East Side Girls Club to Heifer International.

9. Conflict Crate Monthly delivery of hand selected, socially conscious products. A portion of each month’s proceeds support those in Bolivia providing safety, nutrition and education to children at-risk of sexual abuse, neglect, and generational poverty.

Five Insights for Your Business Have you considered a charitable initiative for #GivingTuesday? Is giving back already a core part of your business? Do you run giving initiatives occasionally? If one of these is you, read on for ideas – inspired by the companies above and many others in the Eco family – to help you maximize your impact.

1. Be tangible and personal: When possible, be specific. Lumbr and Willa Walker state that a set number of trees are planted for every purchase. Others state that a percentage of proceeds or revenue is donated. These are powerful statements that make your customers feel like THEY are making an impact. If you can't be specific upfront, consider letting your customers know how much was donated after the fact.
2. It’s the intention not the size: The giving campaigns of behemoth companies are intimidating. Rest assured, your smaller scale efforts can make a major difference. Why? You might have more loyalty and influence than a giant impersonal announcement. So think about how you can do more than just raise money, by educating others about the issues you support – on your website, through social media, in your newsletters or personal notes. Soul Cyster Creations motivated me to learn about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Honey & Sage Company led me clicking through Circle of Health International’s site to learn more about their innovative impact model.
3. Involve employees, customers and supporters: There are many ways to engage others. Ask for ideas on organizations to work with. Have a volunteer day. Encourage your team or customers to promote your partner organization within their networks. Ask your community to share personal stories of how they have been impacted by the cause you are supporting. Incorporate an “add $X to my order to be donated to this nonprofit” on your checkout page. Checkout donations are unobtrusive and give customers a chance to do more if they are moved. Platforms like Shopify, Volusion and Big Commerce have built in functionality for this.
4. Be loud and proud when promoting your efforts: It is normal to avoid anything that feels like excessive “self-promotion” or to not want to clutter the user experience by announcing giving campaigns, but promoting your efforts proactively, clearly and enthusiastically is important – both in the impact you make and for your business. And don’t forget to promote the results – such as how much was donated or what impact donations resulted in.
5. Get creative: Design a specific product for your cause. Develop a video to educate people and promote your efforts. If the nonprofit or charity you are working with can connect you with some of their clients, showcase specific client stories that have moved you. These type of higher effort, creative strategies do not necessarily make sense for all initiatives, but consider if and when they might be right for you.

An EcoEnclose Giving Initiative For every order we receive in November, EcoEnclose will donate $1 to Homes for Our Troops.

Prioritizing Made in the USA is a big deal here at EcoEnclose. We are grateful to military veterans for their heroic sacrifices to protect this country.

So we are thrilled to be supporting Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) this November in honor of Veteran’s Day.

Thank you to Justin and Terrence, two of our own team members, for your service to our country.

HFOT is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans post 9/11. Most of these Veterans have sustained injuries including multiple limb amputations, partial or full paralysis, and/or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). HFOT homes restore some of the freedom and independence these Veterans sacrificed while defending this country. Since 2004, HFOT has built 225 specially adapted homes nationwide. We think HFOT is almost as inspiring as the Veterans they seek to support.