Author: Knowledge Stitch

goodprint vs. badprint

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I had recently done a post on ebay and World of Good, Inc. After taking a closer look, I was surprised to find TOMS shoes categorized under “Economic Empowerment,” for shoppers interested in supporting “People Positive” consumption practices. For those of you who haven’t heard of TOMS, they are a California based shoe company that has received lots of buzz over their “one for one” campaign. According to company policy, for every shoe sold, one will be donated to a child in need. The shoe drop-offs are well documented through photos and video, available on the site. Unfortunately, the company has not been as transparent with respect to how their shoes are manufactured. Listed under FAQ’s you will find some information, however this information has in no way separated TOMS shoes from any other shoe company, and is hardly enough to qualify the shoes as sustainable/ethical. Despite this fact, World of Good and ebay have categorized TOMS shoes as an option for shoppers to promote economic value and empowerment.  

Green: Sustainability, Significance, and Style Conference

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This past week/end  in New York (Dec. 4-6th) ,  the Green: Sustainability, Significance and Style Conference  ran at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York. The conference hoped to highlight everything from dirty gold to Burmese rubies, sustainable fibres and the future of green fashion. I wish I could have made it, and I hope it was a success. Will keep you posted..

ebay offers a world of good?

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A friend wrote to me yesterday sharing a link to ebay’s social conscious.

In September of this year, World of Good, Inc. launched WorldofGood.com in partnership with ebay. Customers can shop by category, or by what the site calls “Goodprint” (people possitive, eco possitive, animal friendly, supports a cause).

In his book Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism, Michael Edwards warns that “Philanthrocapitalism has seized on an important part of the puzzle of how to square democracy with the market, but is in danger of passing itself off as the whole solution, downgrading the costs and trade-offs of extending business and market principles into social transformation.” (Edwards, 8 ) Edwards quotes Jeff Skoll, ebay co-founder, to highlight business attitudes toward the opportunities created by philanthtocapitalism: “‘The most pressing environmental issues of our time will be…solved when desperate governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) finally surrender their ideologies and tap the private sector for help” ‘ (13).

I wonder if the people at World of Good, Inc. believe that by partnering with ebay they have serendered their ideologies?

Edwards, Michael.  Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism. USA: Dēmos: A Network for Ideas & Action and The Youth Foundation, 2008.