Category: Benevolent Capitalism

Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company

Rather than selling the company or taking it public, Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed trust and a nonprofit organization. They were created to preserve the company’s independence and ensure that all of its profits — some $100 million a year — are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe. Read more…

Treating Workers Fairly at Rent the Runway

Until recently, Rent the Runway had two tiers of workers: salaried employees were given generous parental leave, paid sick leave and the flexibility to work from home, or even abroad, whole hourly employees, working in the warehouse, on the customer service team and in retail stores, had to face life events without that same level of benefits. After reflecting on how this system perpetuates deep-seated social problems, recently the company equalized benefits for all employees; warehouse, customer service and store employees now have the same bereavement, parental leave, family sick leave and sabbatical packages that corporate employees have. (NY Times, May 6, 2108)

Wall Street wiz quits, opens pizzeria To Pay It Forward

Mason Wartman, 26, started his pizzeria, Rosa’s Fresh Pizza, in Philadelphia with $250,000 that he saved while working on Wall Street. Mason’s pizza starts at $1.00 per slice, and although the pizza is good, he is known for something else entirely.
Wartman has introduced a unique way to pay it forward in the City of Brotherly Love.
Customers are allowed to spend an extra $1.00 and fill out a Post-It note as credit for someone in need.
Whenever someone is in need of food, they can come by Rosa’s, grab a Post-It, and turn it in as payment.
So far, Mason and his customers have donated 8,300 slices of pizza to the homeless and hungry.
Alongside the Post-Its are thank you notes from those who have benefitted from the program. For example:

I just want to thank everyone that donated to Rosas it gave me a place to eat everyday and the opportunity to get back on my feet. I start a new job tomorrow! Everybody wants the world to change but in order for that to happen we have to change ourselves And Rosas is a great idea and example of that. THANK YOU!

Story and pictures on WIMP.com.

Conscious Capitalism by Raj Sisodia

by Doug Hardy | July 15, 2013

Professor Raj Sisodia, chairman and co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism Institute, is the co-author (with Whole Foods Founder John Mackey) of business bestseller Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. In addition to helping companies around the world adopt the mindset of Conscious Capitalism, Sisodia also is the F.W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business at Babson College. We spoke recently about Conscious Capitalism’s themes and what they mean for entrepreneurs. [Read more…]