Indosole

Indosole's mission is to salvage old motorbike tires and other trash from landfills and give them new life.  The company helps reduce the size of landfills and supports skilled Balinese artisans and their families.  All products are handmade by the Balinese artisans and materials are sourced from the islands of Indonesia. The company employs fair trade practices and has a production process that does not contain fuel powered machines. If that wasn't enough, Indosole also donates their shoes to children in need, living in orphanages.

To date over 11,000 tires have been repurposed, creating over 22,000 pairs of shoes. Indole's quest is to save one million tires from the landfill.

For more information, or to purchase a pair of their super stylish footwear, please visit the Indosole site.

You can also support Indosole by supporting their Kickstarter project. They are seeking $50,000 to help increase their production and impact.

Social Responsibility

Sometimes the smallest changes to your lifestyle can have the greatest impact. So to kick off the re-launch of Nonprofit Awareness, this week we'll be featuring some great companies that are doing their part to be positive instruments of change. By purchasing any of their products- products you're buying anyway- you are helping build a better local, regional, national and global community.




Know a great nonprofit, for-profit, group or individual whose work should be featured? Send us an email at nonprofitsnow@gmail.com.

Ethical Bean Coffee Company

Last month we had a week long series dedicated to for-profit businesses that either supported nonprofits or were recognized for their socially responsible business practices. I  couldn't fit all the great companies then, but today I'll be featuring another great coffee and tea company that's worth supporting, because as we learned a change a small as your brand of coffee is still a step towards a better world.

Ethical Bean Coffee Company, founded in 2003 by Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte in Vancouver, British Columbia, is the Lower Mainland's fastest growing Certified Fair Trade coffee supplier and B.C's only 100% Transfair Canada Certified Fair Trade Coffee roaster. The company was born from a deep, personal connection to Latin America, a sense of social and environmental responsibility, and a love of coffee. Ethical Bean roasts only 100% Fair Trade Certified and Certified Organic shade grown coffees.

The company believes in global responsibility and environmental sustainability, (organic, shade grown, and bird friendly). Suppliers strive to leave the smallest footprint and to preserve the surrounding ecosystems. They are committed to ensuring small-scale farmers receive a fair price for their efforts, sustaining their businesses and providing a decent standard of living for their families. 

Through community partnerships, Ethical Bean has created coffees to help nonprofits. Their Community Blend Partnerships benefits local nonprofit organizations. Each time you buy these special blends, a portion of the proceeds goes to the corresponding organization. Ethical Bean currently has two blends, benefiting Vancouver's Folk Music Festival and Adoptive Families Association of B.C.

They also have a 'give-back' program, (via Child Aid), which benefits children from a region in Guatemala where Ethical Bean sources its coffee. Every December, $1 from every 1lb of coffee sold goes to sponsor kids through primary school. In 2006, 45 students received the aid.

The company also sells tea, and they are just as committed to global and environmental responsibility. To find out about their tea initiatives, philanthropic efforts, and of course product information, please visit Ethical Bean's website.

Maggie's Organics

Today's feature is yet another example of a socially conscious business.

Maggie's Organics mission is "to produce and provide comfortable, durable, affordable and beautiful articles of apparel and accessories made from materials that restore, sustain and enhance the resources, including human, from which they are made."

The company was founded in 1992 on the premise that all workers could be treated ethically and that clothing could be functional, beautiful and affordable, and constructed of environmentally sustainable materials.  The company was inspired by the statistics about conventional cotton, which is considered the world's dirtiest crop due to its heavy use of insecticides. Believing that there is no environmental sustainability without social responsibility, Maggie's is founded on these principles:

• All products constructed using Certified Organic cotton or Certified Organic wool.
• Conscious of energy consumed by transporting products across the globe, develop supply chains as close to home as possible, and use minimal packaging materials.
• Work exclusively with business partners who guarantee livable working conditions and independence for their workers.

Maggie's organic and fair trade line of products includes: socks, scarves, tights, loungewear, legwarmers, tees, baby clothes, new stuff animals, and tops.

Maggie's is a supporter of fair trade, responsible business ethics, and environmental stewardship. In order to ensure social responsibility the company:

• Promotes and monitors practices of working conditions and production standards
• requires full disclosure of working conditions and production standards
• makes on-site visits
• establishes ongoing relationships with partners to develop environmentally sustainable practices
• supports worker-owned cooperatives vs. sweatshops

To learn more about Maggie's Organics, including its work with partner organizations, why organic over conventional cotton, and much more, please visit Maggie's Organics website. The site provides a wealth of knowledge, and you can read about all the philanthropic initiatives Maggie's has established.

Cauzal Coffee

Today continues our look at for-profit businesses that are doing good.  Cauzal Coffee not only employs socially responsible business practices, but also uses their proceeds and resources to help improve the world we live in.

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world. It's an $18 billion industry in the United States alone, with 3 out of 4 American adults purchasing coffee. With that in mind, Cauzal Coffee has committed themselves to using those facts to make a difference. Twenty-five percent of every sale goes to a humanitarian cauze. When you purchase from the company you not only choose from six blends, but also choose the cause you want to support: huger, poverty, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, Disaster: Congo Crisis, or Unclean Water. Cauzal Effect helps people suffering from these tragedies.

The Cauzal Effect is a global movement that encourages generous and responsible living to benefit people in need. Nonprofit organizations are carefully selected; organizations that practice financial integrity and effective aid distribution in the six areas of global need previously mentioned.

The premium micro-roasted coffee starts with responsible sourcing, making organic and shade grown coffee available and using 100% post-consumer recycling materials for shipping boxes. By sourcing coffee through their roaster's Farm Friendly Direct program, Cauzal is able to support poverty stricken communities as they work to build a stronger future. This means paying farmers above market prices for their coffee, in addition to a premium that finances farm and community assistance projects such as tree planting, water treatment facilities, community centers, school buildings, and funding teachers' salaries. Each project is tailored to the needs of the local community.  Many of the programs Cauzal Coffee supports aid coffee growing regions.  

Cauzal Coffee also offers opportunities for individuals and nonprofit organizations to benefit from their philanthropic initiatives. Through MyCauze (for Individuals) and Our Cauze (for nonprofits), individuals and nonprofit organizations can have Cazual Coffee support their causes. MyCauze and OurCauze help generate financial support for your humanitarian cause. Purchases by your constituents gains your cause 25%- 33% of the sale proceeds. For more information on the programs and organization criteria please visit Cauzal Coffee.

Please visit Cauzal Coffee's site. It's a wonderful company, and it goes to show how making a simple change in brand can make such a huge difference. They provide great information about the causes they support, including stories about why their work is so important. There is plenty of information on how you can get involved, whether it's by purchasing coffee or fundraising for your own cauze.