Nice initiative --the website looks good.
Do you expect to publish reports on how much profit the store makes / how much is donated? I'm guessing revenue first and foremost goes towards covering costs, such that it's possible that no donations are made (if revenue doesn't cover costs) -- is that right?
Actually, Erich, costs are pretty low for a Shopify store and I am just paying them out of pocket. So 100% of the revenue minus cost of each item is donated. So, if you buy, profit will be made that will translate to a donation to Givedirectly.
Yes, we will be publishing reports on what we donate on a monthly basis.
Nice!
Good work that needs spreading! I just wanted to flag there seems to be a missing link under "here":
"This project will need EAs and others who put additional effort in trying to make the world a better place. Brad discusses the different players in the Profit for Good and their motivations here."
TLDR: Here's a link to a store selling housewares, kids/babies supplies, pet products and out door products where 100% of the profits go to GiveDirectly. Now, shipping is 100% free on all items in the store!
My name is Ellie Leszczynski and I am the Social Media Director for the Consumer Power Initiative (also known as CPI), founded by Brad West. I got interested in volunteering because once I heard about the idea and the mission, I knew I just had to be a part of it.
After becoming familiar with the Effective Altruism community, I realized the EA principles really inspire me to think of how I can be better in my own life and give back to others. So I went on the EA website and ordered my free book - “Doing Good Better” by William MacAskill. I am now looking forward to reading his new book, “What We Owe the Future," as well. And I really am amazed by the community that has been developed around using our time, money, grit, and creativity to maximize our positive impact for everyone, including even insects raised in alternative farming or consciousness being generated by machine learning.
This is a vast world with a lot of moving parts and ideas going on in it, and the Consumer Power Initiative is taking initiative to promote an altruistic mission that doesn't take much to share and spread. As example, I would like to introduce you to an online shop called the Consumer Giving Store. The Giving Store directs all of the profit that it generates to GiveDirectly, a highly-rated charity that does direct cash transfers to the global poor. The storefront was designed by Kagen Zethmayr, one of the members of the Consumer Power Initiative, and coded by Madhav Malhotra, an EA who was inspired by a discussion with Brad in the comments of one of his posts. You may already be familiar with it. At the Giving Store, you can buy products curated from a variety of sources at no-more-than-retail prices, whose sole purpose in being sold in this venue is to generate profits toward a worthy cause without added cost to the consumer.
This fits into the broader idea of the Profit for Good model (also called “Guided Consumption”), which the Consumer Power Initiative is trying to promote and normalize. The Giving Store not only allows people to help GiveDirectly by buying goods, it also allows them to send a signal to the broader world that consumers care and want to help in what ways they can.
We believe that the general public will choose to buy goods from Profit for Good Companies (“PFGs”) when they can do it without paying more or sacrificing quality. We are confident in the proposition that, however flawed and/or selfish members of the general public may be, they would rather the beneficiaries of effective charities, such as those that help the global poor, get the benefits of profit generated from their activity rather than the people who currently get said benefits: the very wealthy, especially if not even doing the work involved in this activity. The general public at large, however, cannot create this infrastructure or the initial steps for the community. This project will need EAs and others who put additional effort in trying to make the world a better place. Brad discusses the different players in the Profit for Good and their motivations here. Vincent van der Holst reviews some of the advantages Profit for Good firms have here.
I gather that EA is all about how we can use our resources and our time to have the highest positive impact in the world. And using consumer sentiment and our economies to further effective charities could really transform the world with everyday choices! We would like to thank you in advance for any purchasing you might do on the Giving Store website.
With the understanding that EAs are very time- and resource-constrained, we would really appreciate it if you could take a few moments to follow and share about us on our social media. Just a few seconds of your time could help you be a catalyst for a world in which effective charities receive a significant portion of our world’s profits. Links to all of our social media are at the bottom of our website. Here is a link to our most recent newsletter if you are interested in learning more about what we are up to.
The project of making this world a better place also could definitely benefit from your thoughts, time in volunteering, funds, and connections too! Please check out our 3rd newsletter to learn more about the Consumer Power Initiative and ways that you can help.
Please feel free to email me or Brad directly ([email protected]) ([email protected]) to share ideas and ask to be added to our mailing list.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We look forward to serving you at the Giving Store and would greatly appreciate any feedback you have regarding your products or your experience. We also hope you will join CPI.
Please note that CPI is seeking funding at this time to get further off the ground in our mission.
Thank you,
Ellie
Nice!
I'd also love to see something like (an even more EA-aligned) version of UK's Oxfam stores (but in the US and elsewhere. See my shortform on this here and let me know what you think?
That is exactly the kind of project that the Consumer Power Initiative would love to support. We currently have several volunteers in information technology that may be able to help with designing and coding an appropriate online sales platform. We also would be interested in helping someone who wanted to spearhead such a project connect with funders for initial costs. We are also looking to grow connections with influencers and celebrities to promote such businesses.
Thrift for Good is a company in the United Arab Emirates that sells used clothing items and donates 100% of profits to worthy charitable projects. We are working on a trade group for Profit for Good Companies called the Charitable Profits Alliance and they have indicated interest in joining.
https://thriftforgood.org/