Before entering University, I have never head of Dragon’s Den. However, after hearing that the show was about aspiring entrepreneurs giving pitches about their ideas or products to the “dragons” to acquire financial support by giving ownership for a part of their company, I became quite interested in the show.
In one episode, three recent university graduates invented an apparel company called “Ten Trees”. Their business model is that for every item that is sold, the company plants 10 trees. One of the dragons, Kevin O’Leary was doubtful that the venture would last long. He did not believe that people would care enough about planting ten trees that they would be willing to pay more for their clothing. Arlene Dickinson, however, believes otherwise as she said, “The future of business is to be socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and make money.”
I absolutely agree with Arlene Dickinson that the future of businesses is to be socially responsible. Instead of thinking purely about making a profit, more businesses will strive to make People, Planet Profit as people have become increasingly aware of the many social issues in society including the extreme effects of global warming and the exploitation of resources that harm the environment. I believe people will be willing to pay a few more dollars in order to help restore the environment to purchase apparel from Ten Trees. The success of TOMS is an example of how a social enterprise can make a profit while also addressing a social issue. People will be more willing to purchase products in which they know that they will be a part of addressing or changing a social issue. Knowing that their money spent will provide them with a product while also being able to tackle an environmental issue to protect nature and make a difference will be an incentive for consumers to choose a product from Ten Trees.
Sources:
http://tentree.org/category/about/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kFj97amzEY