My two favourite Social Enterprises right now
Lucy Wells became a London Fellow in October 2017 and is now living in New York, where she discovers two social enterprises — one producing toilet paper and the other one renting out clothes.
One of the joys of recently moving to the States is I get to finally try a company I’ve been lusting after for ages — Le Tote. We learnt about it in training from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation as an example of circular economy start ups — described as ‘Netflix for clothes’.
Basic principle: pay a flat fee of $59/month and rent clothes ‘by the tote’ (which is three pieces of clothing and two accessories). You get unlimited totes a month.
Why it’s social: reduction in fast fashion leading to landfill.
Why it’s ace: well, I mean, just read the basic principle. You get that ASOS new clothes excitement without the guilt that you’ve blown all your money.
You get to try heaps of clothes you might not normally wear without the guilt that they’ll sit in your wardrobe forever unworn. You get different seasons and styles without needing endless storage.
If you’re like me and your weight fluctuates quite a bit, you can rent in the size you are right now without having a closet full of fat pants.
Oh, and the packaging is beautiful. And the app. And overall user experience. It’s just ace. They need to bring it to the UK.
The second social enterprise that I am loving right now was started in Australia (my previous home) and has recently launched in the USA and UK. Quintessentially Australian, it’s called Who gives a crap?
Basic principle: toilet roll, tissues and kitchen roll ordered online in bulk.
Why it’s social: why isn’t it? The toilet paper is made from bamboo, the tissues are 100% forest friendly, they use only eco friendly products in their production. Oh, and they give 50% of their profits to build toilets. A bit like Belu for your butt.
Why it’s ace: the name alone makes me love this social enterprise, but beyond that, all the irreverent marketing is very enjoyable.
Visit their website and you’ll see what I mean. Although you have to buy in bulk, each one is wrapped so attractively they’re great to have out on show (and the bulk buy makes it a great product for your office).
Also, when this started as a crowdfunding campaign one of the founders sat on a toilet and refused to move until they had enough orders to start production. He sat on it for 50 hours (watch the video here).
They’re offering some good offers for new customers in the UK right now, so I encourage you to think about whether you do, indeed, give a crap.
