there’s a bit of a trend lately in business of what i call compassionate consumerism. businesses offering consumers not just products and services, but a means to help give back as well.

  • TOMS is perhaps the most well known of all with their one for one matching program which donates a pair of shoes or glasses or a week of water to someone in need whenever you buy one of their products
  • in a similar vein, [Warby Parker](https://www.warbyparker.com/buy-a-pair-give-a-pair “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair Warby Parker”) will donate a pair of glasses to someone in need for every purchase of a pair you make from them.
  • another company from WP co-founders, [Harry’s](https://www.harrys.com/give-a-shave “Give a Shave - Donating 1% of Sales & Time Harry’s “), will donate 1% of their sales and 1% of their employee’s time to help prepare people for personal and professional success, such as partnering with groups to reduce high school drop-out rates among city youths
  • AmazonSmile, a program from online shopping giant amazon which donates a portion of your purchase price to the charitable organization of your choice, was launched a year ago and even gives a friendly reminder (if you sign up) to redirect you to the AmazonSmile page before you make any purchases
  • the healthy snack food subscription service NatureBox donates a meal for each box they sell (at least 1 million meals a year) to help fight hunger in america
  • another subscription service, [BarkBox](https://www.barkbox.com/a-good-cause “BarkBox for a Good Cause BarkBox”), donates 10% of their profits to dogs in need of care from rescues and adoption, to programs designed to provide loving homes for our troops’ pets while they’re deployed

these businesses and services are built to succeed in two specific ways: 1) they allow folks the guilt-free experience of buying something nice for themselves while at the same time knowing that they’re helping someone else in need; and 2) they give an option for people who are going to be buying certain items anyway the ability to ensure that their money is going to good use, not just lining the pockets of CEOs or providing larger dividends to shareholders. and this list is just the tip of the iceberg. it’s a trend that i see growing over time, and one that could very well challenge our very concept of what business is all about.

i believe in it so much, [i quit my previous job because of it](https://medium.com/@thisisjohnny/i-quit-my-job-today-3d0199a74dc4 “I quit my job today Medium”).