Uplifting messages - often more believable than the same messages on mass produced, slave labor, environmentally unsafe, etc…
The unexpected benefit
Helping others - in a way that I could do.
I did a lot of this, and something unexpected happened.
This was a period I was severely depressed, near death.
Occasionally, I would notice I was wearing a shirt that I bought to help orphans, carrying a backpack that I bought to help people who need mental healthcare, and wearing a bracelet that I bought to help people escape being sexually trafficked
I did not buy these things for my own well being, I bought them to help others.
But in those moments, the products helped lift me up - they were proof that I was beneficial to others, at least in some ways.
Sometimes these products were one of the few stands of existence keeping me alive - the knowledge I helped others.
More than this, the products often carried beautiful messages which I was happy to broadcast to others.
The unanticipated need - purity of such shopping
There’s a lot of grey area in this arena. There are some good actors, some bad actors, and a lot in between. Even having spent so much time looking into it, it is still often difficult for me to tell the difference.
There were plenty of times I purchased an item believing it was beneficial and proudly shared the brand with friends only to later realize maybe that brand wasn’t actually so beneficial after all.
So I thought, well, how pure could it be?
And I realized there was a way, and it isn’t even that complicated.
Simply, separate the charity from the product and the money from the producer.
Let people use their own ability to craft to fundraise for the charities they most admire.
As an example. There is a man named Jim Withers that I respect.
He is a doctor who heads an organization which helps homeless people receive healthcare and love.
He gives medical care and helps people who desperately need it.
The organization doesn’t sell products in a store to fundraise.
More than this, I don’t want him to spend his time designing t-shirts to sell in a store to fundraise, I want him to continue giving the medical care he already does to people who are in need.
I can’t give those people medical care, and I don’t have money… but I can design a t-shirt.
And, if I was to design and sell a t-shirt - giving all the proceeds to this organization, there would be no doubt that I was not using the narrative of ‘helping others’ to maximize profits.
If I was to buy such a shirt, I would have confidence the purchase actually helped.
1.
The Buyers
2.
The Charities
The idea is to raise funds and awareness of the charities.
More than this, it is to raise these things without any effort on behalf of those working with the charity.
If successful, one effect this should have is to enable charities to focus more on their service and less on fundraising (as this helps do that for them).
3.
The Crafters
One of the reasons I was first interested in shopping that also helps is because I wanted to help.
However, I found that I was limited in what I could do.
Every charity seemed happy to receive money, but how could I help if I didn’t have money to give?
Some charities (not all), accept volunteer efforts.
While my time was limited, I did try. I found the volunteer efforts had me doing the most basic of tasks.
I was ok with this, I was happy to help. But, I also believed I was capable of helping more, in other ways.
They were employing my hands, but not my mind.
And so, there I was impotent to help.
Buying clothing that helps was one thing I found, here are a few other things I found I could do.
But, I realized that, if I was clever, I could leverage my abilities to help.
I also imagine that other people desire to help. Sometimes these people may not have much money, but this does not mean they are poor - the world is full of people who have incredible talents but little money.
So, the shop is a way for people to use what abilities they have to strengthen charity.