So vowed Simon Griffiths, Co-founder of Who Gives A Crap on launching their IndieGoGo campaign. That gets attention. And the story has all the classic hallmarks of never giving up.
It all started when Simon, and his Co-Founders, Jehan Ratnatunga and Danny Alexander, learned that 2.4 billion people (almost 40% of the world) don't have access to a toilet; when they learned that that 4000 under 5s die EVERY SINGLE DAY due to poor sanitation.
So, they decided to do something about it and came up with the perfect product. What better way to raise awareness of the lack of sanitation than by getting a product in front of people every single day. And toilet paper won that contest hands down. But, how about if they could get a win/win and produce toilet paper without using trees? That was an easy one to fix.
Who Gives a Crap's business model is simple. They make eco-friendly toilet paper products with environmentally friendly materials, and donate 50% of the profits to help build toilets for those in need.
They donate those profits to non-profits working to improve access to hygiene, water, and basic sanitation in developing countries. To date, they've donated to WaterAid Australia, Sanergy, Shining Hope For Communities, and Lwala Community Alliance — incredible organisations with deep experience and skill in implementing high impact sanitation projects throughout the developing world.
As of January 2019, they’ve donated $1.8m Aussie dollars (that’s the equivalent of over £1,000,000!) which is enough to help tens of thousands of people in need and this is just the beginning.
By reinvesting the other 50% of the profits, they plan to open more distribution centres, hire more talented people, develop new products and find more innovative ways to improve the existing ones – all to make sure we’re around to see the day everyone in the world has a toilet.
On top of growing the business, it’s incredibly important for them to prove that a profit-for-purpose business model can work. The more people see this, the more social enterprises like this can get off the ground and do great things.
Simple! Buy their products, tell your friends, spread the word on social media. How easy is that? And you'll be part of a community helping to save children's lives. You can shop at Who Gives a Crap here.
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