[MEANINGFUL MONDAYS] What brands are meaningful?

Nice post, Paul. Thanks for getting the conversation going again!

I love the concept of Social Enterprise companies, I believe TOM Shoes is one of them. Another good one is Blanket America. 

I worked in the Telco industry for some time, and Fairphone (in The Netherlands) is a company I always admired, it’s all about recycling phones - as you know some of their components are quite damaging for both people and the environment. 

Some time ago I mentioned to you the concept of Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. Quick video below to explain her economic model. 

I encourage others mention other brands doing good in the world, the more exposure they get the better 

@paul @James @Gabriel 

great points and companies that you brought forward. 

Though they come to the party “late”, LEGO has done a tremendous amount since Greenpeace called them out in a 2014 video - to end their partnership with Shell). They have reduced their carbon footprint and are working towards 100 percent renewable energy capacity by 2030. They have created the LEGO Sustainable Materials Center to find sustainable alternatives to their current materials and packaging. 

While these are not the same give-backs that Warby Parker or TOMS are doing, it is an example of how a huge brand that is coming to realize it has a broader social responsibility in the world. As an AFOL - adult fan of LEGO - I grew up with literally thousands of blocks, making castles, forts and cityscapes and have walked on my share of pieces with two rounds of children playing with LEGO. I don’t see them going away as a brand any time soon and I am energized by what they are continuing to do to ensure that they can provide people with imaginative play opportunities for years to come. 

@paul - thanks for posting the links to the Meaningful by Typeform talks. I had missed that event and they are really informative. 

des

Lego! My house is full of them, my 2 year old son loves them. Didn’t know about their partnership with Shell story, really interesting.

@James I love Lush!!!!

@john.desborough I had no idea how much Legos did behind the scenes - thanks for sharing this! I loved legos as a kid, and it’s cool to now know more about how they’re giving back to the world. Definitely going to watch the documentary over the weekend!

In my past life, I worked a couple different roles at Apple Corp and retail, and I’ve always been inspired with how they bring meaning to everything they do, even the features they build into their product that require a ton of research yet most people don’t notice (especially in regards to accessibility). Apple paves the way for their overseas employees by offering benefits like free education to every employee at their factories amongst other benefits. I don’t know another company manufacturing in that part of the world that even bothers to care whatsoever about the employees abroad. They also have a volunteering program for retail employees in which every hour they do a volunteer event together, they donate $25 per hour, per person that volunteered to the organization. 

Another company I’ve been really inspired by is Wildfang, which is a clothing company that essentially creates more “manly” clothing for those identifying as women. Not only are they making strides with how they shape clothing perceptions, but they also use their brand to donate back to charities that support immigrants, reproductive rights and woman/human’s rights. It’s really, really cool what they’re doing and how they’re doing it so well. 

Thanks for starting this thread, @paul !!