Collective Good » Good Business

More Ways to Help Japan

Dan — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:40:15 +0000

The following post is from guest blogger Jiani Xu. In the coming months, Collective Good hopes to have more guests post about a variety of topics. If you’re interested in contributing, please shoot us a message.

In the past month alone, traditional news sources have all but forgotten about Japan. Like them, the initial wave of support for Japan has, too, dwindled down. Unfortunately, the help that Japan needs for recovery has not dwindled down. Luckily, there are some organizations out there that are keeping alive the spirit of helping, and the spirit of creativity, by offering an incentive for donating to Japanese relief efforts.

Wear philanthropy
The 1,000 Prayers for Japan t-shirt project is from a company called Love+Water Designs that creates Wearable Philanthropy. Each shirt is $35 on the website and comes with a pre-stamped postcard to send someone in Japan your well wishes. Currently, there are 2 designs for sale, one from Catherine Skinner and another from Robert Indiana, the creator of the iconic “LOVE” statues. Since each design has a limited print of 200 shirts, they are also collector items.

Watch a movie
Even though the movie Hereafter with Clint Eastwood was pulled from Japanese theaters due to (spoiler alert!) a scene in the movie involving a tsunami disaster, some profits made on its DVD sales will be donated to the tsunami relief effort. Clint Eastwood and Warner Bros. will donate upwards of $1 million from the profits of Hereafter to the Red Cross.

Listen to some (good) music
Benefit for the Recovery in Japan is a compilation album by various artists featuring 64 songs, including those by Akron/Family and School of Seven Bells. Besides, with 64 songs to choose from, there’s bound to be a few that you like. You can purchase the album here for $15. 100% of the proceeds will go to Civic Force, a Japanese non-profit organization that provides emergency aid and response.

On the other side of the spectrum is Songs for Japan, a compilation album with artists from Universal Music. For only $10, you can listen guilt free to the likes of John Lennon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters, and Bob Dylan. All of the artists on the album are relatively well known so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. At $0.26 per song, this is a bargain.

Add some stickers to your bumper
Stickers! Each decal costs $5 and all proceeds are being donated to the Red Cross for Japan relief.

Post a quirky picture
tUnE-yArDs’ Merrill Garbus is donating $1 for each picture of their fans painted in tUnE-yArDs-esque paint that’s posted to their Flickr account.

Redecorate your living room
The “Help Japan” print is an 18″ x 24″ high quality digital print on white tone semi-gloss poster stock from Signalnoise. For $30, it would make a nice decoration piece that comes with a story.

The Information Blanket

Dan — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:57:40 +0000

The Information Blanket is a social initiative aimed at increasing pre and post-natal education among new mothers in developing nations and impoverished areas to help decrease the infant mortality rate. It’s both a blanket for infants as well as an information guide for new parents about their child. Issues addressed on the blanket include appropriate sizes for babies ranging in age from one to six months, and information about breastfeeding, immunization vaccinations, body temperature and warning signs of illness.

100cameras = Positive Photojournalism

Dan — Sat, 21 May 2011 02:00:00 +0000

100cameras is a fantastic non-profit that helps empower children living in unjust conditions by giving them cameras to document their lives. The prints are then sold, and 100% of the money is given back to the partner organization. The photos are a great way to raise money and awareness, and empower sustainable growth in these poverty stricken areas. Check out their website to see when one of their photo exhibits comes to your city. The video below is from their recent event in New York.

Ed Hardy for Good (no, really)

Dan — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:09:45 +0000

I couldn’t have been more excited when I heard about this offer. Send your Ed Hardy or Afflection t-shirt to Super Top Secret, they’ll donate it to a homeless person and send you one of their Super Secret t-shirts in return. Finally some good is coming from those bedazzled, gaudy, tattoo-influenced t-shirts (instead of fist pumps and fake tans).

Samasource Greeting Cards

Dan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:34:58 +0000

Greeting cards created and customized by a Samasource worker. For just 99 cents per card, you can support a worker’s training and help him or her generate life-changing income.

http://give.samasource.org/

Browse for a Cause

Dan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:39:32 +0000

If you use Firefox, check out Browse for a Cause. Browse For A Cause is a service which allows you to support your favorite charity by browsing the internet. After adding the browser add-on, a percentage of your online purchases are donated to support the charity of your choice on your behalf – you don’t have to remember anything, fill out any forms, donate money, or change your browsing behavior in any way.
[vimeo clip_id=7935833 width=500 height=300]

Baking for Good

Dan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:30:23 +0000

How amazing is this concept: Order some baked goods, and help out a fantastic cause at the exact same time. Genius. Baking has become very popular in the past 5 years, with many specialty cupcake shops opening up in major cities. Emily Dubner has decided to take the bakery model to a new level by adding a philanthropic component. When you order through Baking for Good, 15% of every purchase is donated to a cause you get to choose. So now you can satisfy your sweet tooth and earn some karma points at the same time.

Changing the Present

Dan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:49:58 +0000

Just in time for the holiday shopping season is the web site Changing The Present. Changing the Present connects you with more than 1500 meaningful charitable gifts that change the world. Browse by cause or nonprofit to find the perfect gift for friends or for your own charitable giving. How cool would it be to tell your friends that your parents got you renewable energy credits instead instead of Tickle Me Elmo?!