Social Consciousness for Sale

Social Consciousness for Sale: American companies are trying to appeal to our charitable side, but are their efforts really doing any good?

by Tian Huang and Brynn Rubinstein
Abroad View Magazine
February 16, 2007

The type of water you buy today can define who you are. Evian, Perrier: sophisticated. Costco: practical. Ethos Water: globally minded.

In October, Jonathan Greenblatt, founder of Starbuck’s Ethos Water, went on a speaking tour with Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), describing the process of developing a business in the arena of social entrepreneurship. Greenblatt’s lectures reflected an increasing trend among companies: donating a percentage of their profits to a social cause.

Ethos Water and the recently developed Project Red are prominent examples of the recent rise of social entrepreneurship. Ethos Water works with Starbucks and donates a portion of its sales to worldwide efforts to provide clean drinking water in regions with poor water filtration systems. Project Red is a multi-corporation effort, with companies such as Gap and Apple supporting the “Global Fund” that aims to help alleviate the suffering and spread of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in Africa. But these efforts also demonstrate that social enterprise is not really charity at all; first and foremost, it’s a business model. As students genuinely interested in improving the global community, we cannot help but question the success of these organizations and if altruism truly is the source of their motivation.

While the obvious goal of such businesses is to address and raise money for global issues, Greenblatt points out that companies also should raise awareness of global concerns and promote social responsibility to help their resolution. Ethos Water describes the problem on the back of its bottles, and its website displays a list of links to organizations that are also working to address the problem. Project Red, however, falls short, offering very little information with its products. The website details how it plans to distribute the money but gives limited information about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and how the organizations intend to institute prevention programs.

Education is important to the effectiveness of giving as a business model, because most consumers do not understand the nature or extent of the problems their purchases are going toward solving. Merely purchasing a “red” shoe, iPod, or bottle of water cannot resolve global problems; the companies should arm consumers with accurate and compelling information that can arouse an even larger social awareness.

One of Gap’s Project Red products is a red t-shirt with the word “inspi(red)” printed in bold, white type across the chest. If it were truly inspirational, consumers should be more willing to donate larger amounts of money to a cause, get involved directly with organizations, initiate their own efforts, or encourage their government to add more resources toward solving these problems.

A comparison of prices of generic and social entrepreneurship goods ignites questions about the motives of the “globally minded” companies. The products generally cost more than they normally would ($1.85 for a 24 oz. bottle of Ethos Water at Cost Plus World Market), yet the proceeds given to the funds are usually less than this difference (only five cents of each sale goes to helping the global water crisis). Are these companies sincerely concerned with creating a better world or are they just exploiting consumers’ guilt?

Whatever the case, it is clear that in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, businesses must be aware of global issues and become more socially responsible. Social entrepreneurship is a reminder and an acknowledgment that we all have obligations as members of a global community and that by communicating, cooperating, and working together we can make a difference.

-Tian Huang, a sophomore at Northwestern University, is majoring in journalism. After her freshman year in high school, Huang studied abroad at a high school in Beijing, China and is looking forward to more study abroad experiences in the future. Contact her at tianh2005@hotmail.com.

-Brynn Rubinstein is a senior at Northwestern studying history and global health. She has studied abroad in Thailand, Florence, and Mexico City. She is on the Board of Directors for the Northwestern Chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy (AID). Contact her at brynnr@gmail.com.

** AV + AID **

Abroad View, continuing its support of student activism, has forged a partnership with Americans for Informed Democracy (AID). AID is a non-partisan organization, with chapters on more than 1,000 college campuses worldwide, that aims to “bring the world home.” Through panels, speakers, and video conferences, AID hopes to raise awareness of global issues among university students, acknowledging that in order to solve these problems, the United States cannot work alone but instead must act with the world as a global community. For more information about AID, visit www.aidemocracy.org.