Packaging Your Product With Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship is a field where it can pay to have some great brand recognition.  It can mean all the difference if your customer base recognizes your commitment to social values when compared to your competition and comes to you specifically because your mission speaks to them.  However, it has been often cited that to have a successful social entrepreneurial venture,  one must begin with a competitive product, regardless of the relative merit of your work.  Its often quite difficult to imagine how a social entrepreneur can compete in traditional markets; where the opposing companies have been established, have more capital, and might use whatever tactics they can to drive down cost, indifferent to any negative social impacts.

So, it is always a bit refreshing to see an instance where an innovative personality is able to bridge this gap, providing a new product or service into an entrenched marketplace that is not only price competitive, but also addresses a social problem.  Enter Shannon Boase, founder and CEO of Earthcycle Packaging Ltd., a company that aims to address the ecological impact of our produce and shipping industries by redefining the nature of the packaging material that is used.  At a first glance, it may not seem as glamorous an activity as alleviating poverty or curing disease, yet when one realizes that product packaging accounts for one third of land-filled waste in the United States (much of this non-biodegradable), the problem itself cannot be so easily discarded.    Most of us have heard stories about landfills running out of room, giant floating continents of plastic waste in the ocean, and how plastics take forever to fully degrade in landfills.  These are probably many of the things that Shannon Boase had in mind when she decided to try using excess palm oil tree fibers to construct biodegradable packaging.

Earthcycle was formed in 2005, and has enjoyed healthy growth in its startup years.  This is partially because the material that Earthcycle generates is cost-competitive with other forms of plastic-based packaging.  Additionally, the venture generates a use for palm waste that would otherwise be incinerated, an environmentally toxic process that also has health consequences for the palm workers whom inhale the smoke fumes.  Since the project relies on palm oil plantations that have already been established in Malaysia (some, sadly, as a part of mostly ill-conceived biofuel ventures), no natural habitats need to be disturbed for the packaging.  Finally, the source of Earthcycle’s raw materials is renewable on a 6 month time scale, whereas plastics rely on fossil fuels that replenish on the order of millions of years.  Icing on the cake?  You can take Earthcycle packaging and stick it directly into your garden as a compost source that will actually help your veggies grow.

All of these reasons likely contributed to Earthcycle being recognized as one of the top 6 companies in the 2009 Social Venture Network Awards.   Check out the Earthcycle blog for articles related to consumer waste, or just some good tips on how to be an urban gardener/composter.

Merging Lines of Social Enterprise and CSR

I’ve been on a bit of a Corporate Social Responsibility kick (CSR) for the past couple weeks, and as I’ve been thinking more and more about the movement and as I’ve started putting my thoughts into words, I realized that I may not have provided adequate explanation to habitual readers of this blog as to why I’m suddenly so interested in this topic.  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, and an even more accessible blog posting on Thought Rocket help to illustrate my thought processes.  In a nutshell, the definition of CSR is undergoing some rapid changes lately and in some of its newer reincarnations it appears to be suspiciously similar to the concept of social enterprise.

While this isn’t really a surprise, seeing as how the two movements have always had some similar ethical foundations, it is worthwhile to note that the two movements typically start at opposite ends of the business development model.  Whereas the term social enterprise tends to refer to businesses that were launched with the concept of directing positive social change, CSR tends to imply new programs within established corporations with social or philanthropic aims.  These businesses were frequently not founded with the idea of addressing a deep rooted social problem as they were with making a profit.  As a consequence, it’s not uncommon to hear CSR initiatives discussed in a cynical light – it’s easy to see how these efforts may appear to be just marketing or greenwashing.  Indeed, as Thought Rocket puts it, the CSR ‘team’ of some companies can be that “one corporate social responsibility guy who is supposed to be the moral compass for the company, like a chaplain in an Army regiment.”

What is interesting is to see how the economic downturn in recent months is affecting CSR programs at many companies.  While many CSR initiatives in the past have relied heavily on charity, economic pressure has placed strains on these budgets, and the amount of corporate charity has declined.  What arises instead is the need for companies to contribute to efforts that advance both social goals and the longevity of the company, so called “corporate sustainability”.  Which of course is the basic tenant of a social entrepreneur to begin with.

Of course, whatever you choose to call it, the changing attitude is welcome.  Furthermore, budding social entrepreneurs may wish to take a second look at some of the new CSR initiatives, in some cases these corporate programs may be laying important groundwork, or highlighting pitfalls for new entrepreneurs interested in tackling a problem in a related area.

Michigan Promotes FastTrac NewVenture Program for Small Business

Yesterday, Governor Granholm announced a number of new initiatives within Michigan to support the growth and liquidity within local small businesses.  Granholm highlighted new funding and support for the FastTrac NewVenture program, a service providing advice and 10-week courses on launching and developing new businesses.  In addition, the state government has entered agreements with the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers (MI-SBTDC) and Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL) to expand credit availability to small business owners.

Never too Young to be a Social Entrepreneur

A recent article in Business Week by Nick Leiber raised concern that an entire generation of 20-somethings to early 30′s has been lost in terms of entrepreneurial innovation.  Leiber notes that many of the exciting and successful startups in recent years have been spearheaded by those over 35 and laments what this might mean in terms of an upcoming generation of businesspeople who have not taken part in the initiation of a new company.

Of course, while Leiber does not specifically call out the younger generation as having a failure of ambition or imagination, the article is drawing a bit of fire.  Including a healthy discussion on the article itself, Kristin Ivie has responded with her own take on Social Citizens.  Ivie notes that many of the new entrepreneurs of the ‘lost generation’ are out there, and may be found in upstart non-profits and budding social enterprises, innovators that are “less interested in making as much money as possible and more interested in starting organizations that are mission-focused”.

With all of the depressing economic news floating around these days, its refreshing to hear a voice reminding us that one is never too young to be an entrepreneur.