Retail therapy

Channeling rage into conscious consumerism.

I’m mad as hell.

Nominations, white male tears, more lies, women wearing the mask of the patriarchy. That was an exhausting couple of weeks.

But it was Costco that broke me. While shopping for household staples, my teenage daughter dragged me to an overstuffed rack of The North Face down jackets. She declared that it’s 1) getting really cold outside and 2) she’s outgrown her old down coat.

I looked at the pricetag marked $149. I looked at the women swarming the jackets and shoving them into their carts without even trying them on, as if Jon Snow was coming for them personally and they best ensconce themselves in preparation.

I looked at my daughter, clutching a purple one, batting her big eyes at me.

“Put it back,” I said. “We can do better. Patagonia sells a similar jacket, and they actually stand for something. They also have a female CEO, Rose Marcario. Remember that name, Rose Marcario.”

Everything can be bought these days, even seats on our highest court in the land. We are in the business of business, and still we have so much work to do.

There are many ways we must continue to fight in the days ahead. One of the most important ways is with our hard-earned dollars. It’s easy to take what’s right there and convenient. But that’s not going to move the needle for us.

Let’s try harder, if just for the next week. Below are suggestions for how you might consider directing your rage with some conscious retail therapy.

If you’re not spending, then direct your energy into taking actions within your company to make it more equal and inclusive.

Here are the TLDR takeaways from the recommendations below:

• As a CEO/founder, your courage in the face of adversity inspires others to act in small and large ways
• Speaking your truth attracts the right kind of customers, employees, board members and investors to your mission
• Demand equal representation on your Board of Directors and throughout your organization; change is happening at the highest levels (albeit slowly)

At the free level

This is so cool…Laura Jennings at Knack is giving away 1,000 free, gorgeous gifts worth over $80 this Thursday. In return, all you have to do is let Knack publish your gift message as inspiration to others. How sweet is that?!? Set a calendar reminder and do this!

At the free+ level

Stop Breathe Think is a meditation app created by Julie Campistron and Jamie Price. There are dozens of great meditation apps. This app is superior for three reasons:

• It makes you check in emotionally before you begin the meditation, which can reset a bad day with the simple act of acknowledging that you’re feeling grumpy or tired or anxious
• Outstanding design and user experience, which is a costly investment for a startup but such an important differentiator
• Founded by the women from Tools for Peace to teach inner-city teens mindfulness skills

They offer a free version with a premium upgrade for more features. My daughter and I use this app daily.

At the $5+ level

This month’s newsstand is a bright spot in dark times. Support these amazing cover girls and buy your copies before they’re gone:

• Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital (‘bout damn time) on Fast Company
• Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in a stunning illustration made from her testimony on Time Magazine
• Dr. Brene Brown on Inc Magazine’s Female Founder issue (with an article on the struggling biz of Brene, which is fascinating)

At the $35 level

Every week there are multiple ways to be in the company of other biz babes. This week it’s Seattle Startup Week.

Many Underwire readers are speaking this year on a range of startup topics, including Kathleen Baxley, Sarah Blankinship, Leslie Feinzaig, Cassandra Gholston, Autum Grimm, Reetu Gupta, Jana Kleitsch, Michele Mehl, Kristen Miller, Dave Parker, Carolyn Parrs, Leslie Pierson, Danna Redmond, Ambika Singh and Keita Williams. Go ladies! And Dave :)

At various levels

Support our friends at Founders Fight Cancer who brilliantly united for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each company will donate a percentage of their October proceeds to support the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives. Heroclip even released a limited run of their “Pink Ribbon” design for the month of October.

Participating companies and founders:

• Excy, Michele Mehl
• genneve, Jill Angelo
• Heroclip, Mina Yoo
• Pulse, Amy Buckalter
• Teadora, Valerie Cole
• TomboyX, Fran Dunaway

Click here to shop and support these founders.

At the $220 level

Attend the Underwire yoga retreat on Jan 27, 2019. The setting alone is worth it — a church lovingly renovated by business owner, mayor, artist, developer, activist and rebel, Karen Guzak. She’ll be there, too.

You’ll have expert yoginis as your guides and amazing food from MJ’s Plant Kitchen. There are only 12 spots available. Save your spot now.

At the $36,600+ level

I call this the Equality Car. It’s the Chevrolet Bolt, a 100% electric car made by a company committed to gender equality and climate change.

General Motors was recently ranked as the no. 1 company in the world for gender equality by the research firm Equileap. Here’s why:

• Female CEO and CFO, Mary Barra and Dhivya Suryadevara, respectively
• At the time of the study, the GM board had a 50/50 gender split; they’ve since replaced a female board member and are now 45% female
• The Executive Chief Engineer of their electric vehicle line is Pam Fletcher
• GM is one of only two companies in the study with pay equality in top, middle and bottom pay “bands,” with no gender pay gap across the company
• Flexible hours and work locations
• Corporate policies to combat sexual violence at work and improve supplier diversity

Read Equileap’s Global Report on Gender Equality. You’ll be surprised by the other companies on the list.

This article originally appeared on Issue 09 of Underwire. Sign up for Underwire newsletters at underwire.works.