The one-for-one business model, touted as a successful means of engaging consumers in real change, is simple and direct: for every product purchased, a beneficial product or service is delivered to someone else in need. One of the most popular brands with this mission is TOMS Shoes. The shoes given to children prevent soil-transmitted diseases and give the children a chance to receive education. Ark Collective’s Get to Give offers backpacks for children in the States; Baby Teresa donates baby rompers.
I agree with this well-researched post by A Personal Diaspora that the traditional one-for-one model is just a band aid to serious underlying problems, and that it undermines local markets. Here are three companies that take the traditional one-for-one model and improve upon it:
- Two Degrees provides locally-produced meals for children through non-profit partners like IMA World Health and Akshaya Patra.
- FIGS’s Thread for Threads initiative partners with local tailors in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nepal to make school uniforms, providing jobs and education.
- Warby Parker provides funding to VisionSpring, a non-profit partner that trains local entrepreneurs to conduct eye exams, design and sell affordable glasses to their own communities.
Thus, the key to become a successful social enterprise with the one-for-one model is to not just give, but to utilize local people and resources to deliver the product/service. This fosters communities and reduces the neo-colonialism and dependence on aid.
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