(1888PressRelease)
March 13, 2008 - In the last years, the last decade, really, a generation of entrepreneurs has become increasingly visible by creating businesses that ‘do good” or like Entrepreneur magazine calls: “Self-sustaining businesses”.
These entrepreneurs measure their gains not only in financial profit but also in the impact there are having in their communities or society in general. Their ventures are a hybrid between non-profit and for profit businesses, like Gigi Pedraza from Inca Kids, a fair trade retailer and wholesaler of accessories and toys, explains: “I started this project because I really wanted to do something for the artisans in Peru, regular people trying to make ends meet while keeping alive their traditions of embroidering, weaving and knitting using natural materials; at the same time, I needed to help my aging mother, she doesn’t have a dependable income and so in my business model, my goal is to make only a US$200 profit a month that I can send to my family”
These organizations are not limited by philanthropic donations and public subsidies, these organizations now have a way of being self-sufficient while still helping others in social need. And for some of these organizations, helping others means helping them start their own businesses, like developing the Kiva website and concept, showing people the business dynamic in Africa.
"Social entrepreneurship is really taking off around the world," says David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, which has been translated into 16 languages; and corporations are learning about it, too.
Companies like Ben & Jerry’s have been leading with the example for decades now, buying fair trade vanilla and using profits from events sponsored by them to benefit the environment, like building solar panels in their factories in India. Gap is also doing good by donating half of the profits from one of its product likes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Like them, many firms are changing from donating money to charities to a more active role in their communities and the world in general.
Some analysts see the trend toward corporate social responsibility as the future of business in America. Skeptics say it is more about making money than doing good and yes, you also see a lot of “green washing” everywhere.
However, it is our hope that more and more companies embrace social values and buying fair trade or deciding to establish their offices in run down neighborhoods will not the exception but the standard business practice. Like Bob Nardelli from the Home Depot says: Things have become a lot more interdependent, there are a broader range of constituents."
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