Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

            Growing up I always thought that companies made money and charities are where you gave the money once you made it from the big companies that paid you. Upon educating myself on the nature of business, I learned that the charities that create the most buzz, no pun intended, are connected to for profit businesses that give portions or all of their profits to charity. A sparked interest in the way these operations work was learning about TOMS Shoes that gives a pair of shoes when you buy them, but another company also sparked a similar interest, here comes the unintended pun, Burt’s Bees.

            Burt’s Bees to whom is not familiar started as a lip balm company made with beeswax and also make other hygiene products. In 2007 the company partnered with other charities to create The Burt’s Bees Greater Good Foundation, which is “dedicated to sustaining charitable, grassroots initiatives that support human and honeybee health.” The company since 2007 has issued over $2 million in grants and over 300,000 proceeds to the companies own non-profit charity. The interesting detail here is that the organization doesn’t only help humans its for the preservation of honeybees which species are in decline. Its simple no honey bees and no people to cultivate habitats for those species, no products and most importantly no pollinators for flowers and other plants. It’s just interesting to think that these charities are more focused on other species than humans, but I feel like our species takes the rest of the earth for granted sometimes and we get a little selfish. However, other species don’t have the abilities we do and its up to us to do something substantial not only for the present but for the future of all life.