Purpose over profit: three businesses using their products as a force for good

For decades, the primary goal of business was to maximize value for shareholders.

However, social consciousness has taken a seat in the boardroom in recent years. As a result, companies are prioritising sustainability and purpose over profit.

Here are three inspiring examples.

Bare Kind

Bare Kind is a B Corp on a mission: to make a difference for animals, one pair of socks at a time.

Launched in 2018, the UK-based apparel brand sells a range of colourful animal-themed bamboo socks.

But these sustainable footwarmers do more than keep people’s tootsies warm. They make a difference to the lives of endangered species.

How?

10% of the profits from each sale are donated to 30+ animal conservation charities across the globe that work to protect the animals on the socks.

And, as these stats from Bre Kind’s 2022 impact report show, it’s making a difference.

In 2022 …

• their panda socks funded the planting of 310 square feet of bamboo (with Pandas International)

• sales of their pangolin socks funded the protection of 58 acres of pangolin habitat (in conjunction with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation)

• turtle sock sales enabled the Turtle Foundation to construct a hatchery to home endangered turtle nests

SEO Travel

SEO Travel is a Leeds-based digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO, PR, and web design for travel brands.

The company launched in 2011 but, after the pandemic hit, Tom McLoughlin (Founder) decided he wanted to use the brand as a vehicle to make a difference.

So, in 2021, he switched up the business model and announced that SEO Travel would donate 100% of its profit to good causes, with the aim of donating £1million by 2030.

By April 2023, the brand was 7% of the way to achieving its goal, having donated £74,590 to  Moving Mountains (an international development charity), and Zarach (a Yorkshire-based charity that supports children living in poverty). 

To date, the funding has:

• provided 247 underprivileged children in Yorkshire with a bed

• rebuilt a school in Bupsa, Nepal, providing 135 children with access to education

• funded the operation of a children’s rescue centre in Embyu, Kenya for 12 months

As well as donating money, the folk at SEO Travel use their marketing skills to promote the charities they work with to attract funding from other investors.

Y.O.U Underwear

The ethos behind ethical clothing brand Y.O.U is that underwear should be ‘universally available to people in all communities’.

In an attempt to make this a reality, the brand sells its undies on a buy-one-give-two model: For every pair of Y.O.U underwear sold, two pairs are donated to Smalls For All (a charity that collects and distributes underwear to people in need across Africa and the UK).

And that’s not the only cause it supports.

£1 from the sale of every item in its light pink range goes to the UK-based breast cancer charity, Future Dreams.

Impact

When the business launched in 2017, the aim was to donate 23,000 pairs of underwear to Smalls for All by 2023. But the team smashed that goal, donating 36,042 pairs to vulnerable men, women, and children by the end of last year.

Inspiring stuff.

Looking for an ethically minded fundraiser? That’s our specialty. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get the ball rolling.

New research has revealed that the UK is the world’s second-most miserable country

According to a new report by Sapien Labs, us Brits are some of the unhappiest people on the planet.

The not-for-profit neuroscience research body published its annual Global Mind Project earlier this month. And it revealed that Britain is the second-most unhappy country in the world. 

Never a people to be outdone, eh? 

If you’re wondering how Sapien Labs measured, they asked people across 70 countries to complete an online questionnaire known as the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ), which assessed their overall happiness and resilience in six areas: mood and outlook, social self, drive and motivation, adaptability and resilience, cognition, and mind-body connection.

From that, people were placed on a scale from -100 to 200, with the upper end being ‘very satisfied’.

The UK’s respondents scored a measly average of 49. And we weren’t far off last place: we only scored one more point than Uzbekistan. 

We did, however, come last in the ‘percentage of people struggling mentally’ category, with a whopping 35% of Brits describing themselves as ‘distressed’.

The good news

We may be a miserable bunch, but Action for Happiness is on a mission to turn things around.

In honour of International Day of Happiness, we’re shining a spotlight on the work they do.

Action for Happiness

Action for Happiness is a registered charity and global movement that aims to ’build a happier and more caring society’.

They’re doing it through a series of initiatives:

• 10 Days of Happiness is a free online coaching programme designed to boost wellbeing and happiness through a series of small daily actions.

• Action for Happiness volunteers facilitate regular online groups to help people connect, learn, and spread happiness locally. The 90-minute sessions explore their evidence-based Ten Keys to Happier Living. 

• They host live talks online with leading thinkers on happiness, wellbeing, and mental health. Happiness Habits is a six-week course designed to help attendees craft the skills for a happy life. An independent randomised controlled trial of the course was carried out by academics from Oxford University, London School of Economics, and Imperial College and found that it enhanced well-being, reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, and increased compassion and social trust.

• Their Keys to Happier Living Toolkit is an engaging, accessible, and evidence-based programme to promote the emotional well-being and resilience of children aged 5-11

• Workplace training: They provide businesses with expert insights to support individual well-being and build a culture of happiness.

• The Action for Happiness app empowers users to improve their happiness and well-being. Each day they receive an action to take at the beginning of the day and an inspiring message at the end of the day. The messages are based on the themes of their popular monthly calendars. Users can also connect and share ideas with other users.

Final Word

If we all take inspiration from Action for Happiness, maybe we’ll have a more prominent position in Global Mind Project’s 2025 league table. Here’s hoping.

Looking for a fundraiser? We can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.

Three inspirational women that changed the charity sector

It’s International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world.

To mark it, we’re highlighting the stories of three incredible women whose dedication to humanitarianism inspired the work of some of the UKs best known charities.

1.      Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910) 

Born in Italy in 1820, Florence Nightingale demonstrated a desire to help others from a young age, dedicating her time to helping the sick and poor in her village.

By the age of 16, she knew nursing was her divine calling and proceeded to study nursing at the renowned Institute of Protestant Deaconesses, in Germany.

She excelled as a student and went on to become superintendent of a hospital for ‘gentlewomen’ in Harley Street, London.

But it was her work in Crimea that catapulted Nightingale and her methods to fame.

In reaction to the public outcry over the poor treatment of wounded British soldiers, the British Secretary of State for War wrote to Nightingale and asked her to lead a group of nurses to tend to the troops. By this time, Nightingale had a formidable reputation as a gifted nurse.

Nightingale travelled to the army hospital in Scutari (modern day Istanbul) and was appalled at the conditions she found.

She secured funds to purchase the supplies she needed to implement drastic changes and improvements to care, treatment, and hygiene.

Her efforts reduced mortality rates from 42% to 2%.

In addition to organising the new hospital regime and training other nurses, she tended to patients. Admired for the unwavering compassion she showed her patients, she earned the nickname ‘the Lady of the Lamp’.

Post-Crimea

When the war ended, Nightingale returned to England a heroine.

She went on to fund the Nightingale Training School of Nursing and Midwifery which continues to train aspiring nurses today as part of King’s College London.

Legacy

Florence Nightingale established the principles of patient care, health, and hygiene that exist today and is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing.

Her work inspired the founding of the International Red Cross, which still awards the Florence Nightingale Medal for outstanding services to nurses in her name.

2.   Marie Curie (1867 – 1934)

An icon in the world of modern science, Marie Curie was born in Poland, but moved to Paris, aged 24 to study physics, chemistry, and mathematics.

It was here that she met her future husband and colleague, physicist Pierre Curie.

The couple bonded over their research into magnetism but soon branched out into radioactivity, a field so new that Curie named it herself.

The duo made huge breakthroughs in understanding radiation, including the discovery of two elements: polonium, named after Curie’s native Poland, and radium, named for its potent radioactivity.

Their discoveries and studies in radioactivity transformed medical science, leading to the development of X-rays and various cancer treatments.

Scientists soon recognised the importance of this work, and Marie Curie became the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize, in 1903.

Frontline

When World War I broke out, Marie realised that X-ray technology could play an important role in the care of wounded soldiers, and raised money to develop a fleet of mobile radiology labs that could transport X-ray technology to the battlefront.

Determined to alleviate suffering on the frontline, she taught herself to drive, learned about human anatomy and X-ray machine operation, and drove to the battlefront, where she treated wounded soldiers for the duration of the war.

Tragically, Marie succumbed to leukaemia after decades of radiation exposure, but her charitable legacy and pioneering invention live on through the charity that carries her name.

3.   Sue Ryder (1924 – 2000)

Sue Ryder was a Yorkshire-born humanitarian who dedicated her life to the relief of suffering.

Aged sixteen, she volunteered to be a nurse with the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry when WW2 broke out.

She was accepted and posted to the Polish section of the Special Operations Executive, a secret organisation established to promote and co-ordinate resistance activity in German-occupied Europe.

After the war, she volunteered to do relief work in Poland, staying on when United Nations relief groups pulled out in 1951. 

Her duties took her into concentration camps, where she met survivors of the Nazis' atrocities, and jails, where she comforted Poles that had been imprisoned for committing offences born of hunger or desperation.

She thought nothing of driving hundreds of miles to see a displaced person who needed help.

The following year, back in England, with only £1,000 from her personal savings, she converted her mother's old home into a care home for sick and injured survivors of the concentration camps and the Sue Ryder Foundation was born.

She went on to establish homes and domiciliary care teams for the sick and disabled across the world.

Her eponymous charity continues today, providing expert care to people at the end of their lives, both in their homes and at seven specialist Marie Curie centres.

Looking for a talented fundraiser? We can help. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.

The rise of the charity shop

The retail sector is fighting for its life. In 2022, almost 50 shops closed every day across the UK, and it was a similar story last year.

But the humble charity shop is bucking the trend. Not only are bricks-and-mortar stores growing in number, but sales are through the roof.

Oxfam’s retail income increased from £39.4m in 2020/21 to £90.3m in 2021/22, while Barnardo’s saw growth of 158% year-on-year to £78m in 2022.

And the trend is being seen across the sector. Data published by the Charity Retail Association shows that, between October and December 2022, there was a 9.1% increase in the average number of transactions per day in charity shops compared to the same period in 2021.

What’s caused the surge in popularity?

There are three factors at play:

Sustainability

Sustainability is a priority for consumers. A study by TheRoundup found that 62% of Brits “always or often” seek out environmentally friendly products.

Thrifting at a charity shop is the ultimate choice for eco-conscious shoppers, and donating is a great way of de-cluttering cupboards without cluttering up the environment.

Cost-of-living

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, shoppers are increasingly turning to charity shops to get the best value for their money. According to MIND, 48% of Brits have swapped their favourite high street stores for charity shops.

And it’s no surprise. Why break the bank at Givenchy when they can pop into one of Shelter’s boutique stores and pick up a designer, high-end high street, or vintage one-off find at a fraction of the price?

Social Media

Social media has also played a part in the charity shop boon.

The hashtag #CharityShopHaul has amassed 217 million views on TikTok, thanks to the rise of charity shop influencers like second-hand fashion stylist Jen Graham, who has grown an impressive following by promoting sustainable shopping.

Just under 100,000 people check out her regular charity shop hauls on Instagram.

And it’s a similar story on YouTube. Thousands of influencers can be found documenting their charity shop escapades and the bargains they pick up along the way.

Next Level

The nation’s obsession with thrift shopping has led to the emergence of initiatives that are taking charity shopping to the next level.

Here are a few examples.

Charity Superstores

Cancer Research UK and The Salvation Army are just two household names to have launched multi-department charity superstores.

Housed in retail units left vacant by failed retailers such as Debenhams, they offer everything from furniture and homeware to electricals and fashion.

Charity Supermarket

Launched in January 2022, Charity Super.Mkt is the UK’s first ‘multi-charity’ pop-up shop. The brainchild of Wayne Hemingway, founder of British fashion brand Red or Dead, and Maria Chenoweth, CEO of sustainable clothing charity TRAID, the pop-up visits different locations across the UK, bringing together second-hand fashion and accessories from the nation’s favourite charity retailers under one roof.

The first time that national and local charities have collaborated on a store, every penny goes to charity.

In its first four weeks, the pop-up raised over £300,000 and saved 11 tonnes of clothing from landfill.

Charity Shop Gift Card

In another ‘first’ for the sector, the Charity Retail Association (the national body representing charity retailers) rolled out the UK’s first Charity Shop Gift Card last year.

Accepted in shops run by regional and national charities across the UK, the CRA touts it as “the only gift card that can be spent in multiple charity shops across the UK”.

The card is made from recycled materials and can be purchased at various high street stores and supermarkets.

65% of the profits from the sales of The Charity Shop Gift Card go to UK-based charities.

Brand/charity collaborations

There are a growing number of collaborations between high street brands and charity shops, as corporate responsibility moves higher up the agenda.

For example, in 2017, high street clothing retailer TK Maxx staff launched a ‘Give Up Clothes for Good’ campaign.

Championed by celebrities and families living with cancer, the initiative rallied people across the UK to drop off their quality, pre-loved clothes, accessories, and homeware at collection points in TK Maxx stores. The items were then sold in Cancer Research UK shops.

TK Maxx customers collected over 1.7 million bags of donated goods, diverting more than 8800 tonnes of pre-loved items from landfill.

Final Word

While vintage fashion has long been popular, there’s no denying the boom in charity shops is taking on new vigour. If you’re not taking advantage, you’re missing out.

Looking to build up your fundraising team? We can help. Call us on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get the conversation started.

How Cats Protection raised £50,000 on eBay in four months

Does your charity have an eBay shop? If not, you could be missing out on a healthy chunk of income, as Cats Protection has proven.

Back in September, a small team of staff set up an eBay store from an office above a Cats Protection shop in Somerset, to harness the power of a worldwide marketplace and make the most of ‘rare and unusual’ items donated by supporters.

Little did they know how successful it would be.

In just four months, their efforts have generated over £50,000, and there’s no sign of sales slowing down.

How have they done it?

David Chan-Baker, Cats Protection’s retail online hub manager revealed all in an interview with Somerset Apple.

“The [eBay] team takes in items that have been donated to Cats Protection shops across the country.

They look for pieces that would have value in the shops but where we can add extra value online.

It’s about using our knowledge of the items to make the most of our donors’ generous gifts.”

Finding value

The team looks into the history of each item it sells online, cataloging the details, heritage, and previous sales of similar items to guide the pricing. 

Chan-Baker said, “We try to find specifics about items that will add value. For example, if we have a games console, we will look at the version, which games come with it, and how others have sold so that we can pitch just below the higher end of the pricing scale to improve turnover.”

Pitch perfect

The team clearly has a knack for pitching, as some of the items have reached astonishing prices.

As Chan-Baker explains, “We had a Bernina sewing machine go for £600 and a saxophone went to a customer in Europe for £549. We are unlikely to have made that in any of our shops as we’d have needed a jazz musician to walk in and know its value.”

The charity also raised £8,000 from the sale of model trains, £400 from Chanel earrings, and £3,000 from Christmas cards.

Current items for sale include a 1960’s velvet coat, from the designer Jean Patou, which is being offered for just under £500, and a vintage mandolin from the 1900s that’s been priced at £160. 

Want to check out their wares? You can do so here.

How to get started with eBay

If Cats Protections’ success has inspired you to launch your own eBay charity shop, you can find out all you need to know to get started here.

It’s worth noting however, that charities aren’t exempt from fees.

While there are no listing fees, you’ll pay a final value fee of 1.1% of the total amount of each sale, plus 17p per order.

The ‘total amount’ is the entire amount the buyer pays, including handling charges, the shipping service the buyer selects, sales tax, plus any other applicable fees.

Need a fundraiser to run your eBay shop? We’ve got the talent. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to find the perfect fit.