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Sustainable Marketing Campaigns That Make An Impact

Consumers are prioritizing sustainable and conscious offerings. This means finding products that are environmentally and socially friendly. Consumers want options that are gentle on the earth and all its earthlings.

They expect modern businesses to be earth friendly, good for consumers, and kind to employees.

Forrester Research found that 34% of US adults shopping online are strongly influenced by companies that limit waste, 26% are strongly influenced by companies actively supporting environmental and climate change policies, and 38% consider it important to buy from companies that embrace sustainable products and practices.

Businesses can cater to these consumer interests, values, and preferences by showcasing sustainable corporate initiatives and using green marketing campaigns that promote their values.

Making an impact with sustainable marketing

Align with a movement or campaign

There’s zero shame in hopping onto a bandwagon for a sustainable marketing initiative. In fact, aligning with an existing movement is the perfect way for a small business to connect with customers, share its values, and promote a favorite cause. Movements have developed around virtually everything. A few to consider include Veganuary, International Polar Bear Day, Random Acts of Kindness Day, World Consumer Rights Day, International Day of Forests, Earth Day, World Oceans Day, Zero Emissions Day, Energy Efficiency Day, and Movember. Refer to these pages for more ideas: Days of the Year UN List of International Days and Weeks Environmental Holidays 2023 Environmental Days Charity Campaigns

Spotlight a lesser-known issue

Popular mainstream campaigns show customers that you’re aware of and in tune with current values. But don’t limit your efforts to those. Lead the way by spotlighting lesser-known causes or ones that don’t get enough attention. Find something worthy and obscure that your market should know about. This will position the business as one to look up to and keep up with.

Raise money for causes

Awareness is one thing, but charities and causes need money to get things done. Businesses can help out in both areas by using checkout fundraising. This type of green marketing lets customers pick a charity to donate to while checking out. It can be run as seasonal, periodic, ad hoc, or continuous campaigns.

Eco-friendly packaging

Packaging makes up a sizable portion of global waste and pollution. Manufacturing is often water- and energy-intensive while using natural resources and producing toxic byproducts. Overpackaging leads to wasted resources and a heavier shipping burden. Single-use and other plastics are typically the worst culprits. However, all packaging production and waste contribute to the issue. As significant as the problem is, this also represents an opportunity to create a positive environmental impact and engage in sustainable marketing via packaging design, material choice, and branding. Sustainable packaging design uses the minimal amount of material needed to protect the product. Manufacturing is water, energy, and material-conscious, seeks to reduce toxic byproducts, and uses renewable resources. The end product should be biodegradable, reusable, or recyclable. That might sound like a tall order, but creative solutions are emerging that make it easy to use sustainable packaging while promoting your brand. Sustainable packaging standards include FSC Certification, PEFC Certification, TÜV’s Green Marks, and the Soy Ink Seal. These organizations certify resource management, product chain of custody, clean materials, and more. Consumers are becoming more aware of standards like the Forest Stewardship Council. A seal from the FSC, PEFC, or other reputable body is trusted and influential. Eco-certified packaging with gorgeous custom branding creates a memorable unboxing experience, sends a clear value statement, and alleviates consumer guilt.

Share sustainability progress tracking

Is your company working towards a sustainability goal? Or is it helping the environment or another cause in measurable ways? Share your progress with a live tracker, progress chart, or counter. Common goals include money for a charity, keeping packages out of landfills, saving water, or cutting plastic use. Whatever the initiative is, sharing progress shows customers your level of commitment and assures them their money is well-spent.

Recycling programs

Our recycling levels are abysmally poor. 15% of global plastic waste is collected for recycling, but only 9% of the waste actually of total waste is recycled while 22% is mismanaged. In the United States, only 28% of packaging and food-service plastics is recovered. The problem usually comes down to poor political structures and recycling infrastructure in regional and local communities. Even when consumers dispose of products in their local recycling center, there’s no guarantee that the packaging will be appropriately recovered or reused. Businesses can take responsibility for the waste their products generate by offering in-house recycling programs. That’s done by working with commercial recycling service companies. Brand-sponsored recycling is ideal for building green marketing programs around. You can stoke engagement, draw in repeat business, and promote sustainable values while encouraging consumers to return empty packaging.

Reduce or offset the environmental shipping impact

Shipping goods around accounts for 3% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. 3% might not sound like a big deal, especially when considering what an individual business might contribute to that. However, making shipping a carbon-neutral process is essential to meeting global sustainability goals. The shipping industry is taking this on with low- and zero-carbon technological innovation. Companies can take the initiative to reduce their impact by using carbon-neutral carriers or shipping emissions-offsetting services. Once that’s done, run a sustainable marketing promotion letting customers know they can shop guilt-free.

Successful sustainable marketing campaigns

The Body Shop: Bring Back Our Bottles

The Body Shop launched a brand recycling program all the way back in 1993, by allowing customers to recycle and refill empty products in the store. It recently relaunched its Return, Recycle, and Reuse initiative and now lets customers bring in clean, empty packaging to recycle through its program partner TerraCycle. Recycling containers are set up in Body Shop stores. TerraCycle collects them once full, then recycles or repurposes the waste into playgrounds, park benches, and other items. The Body Shop is running a pilot program to let customers refill containers for certain products. It’s currently experimenting with refillable body wash and plans to expand into shampoo, conditioner, and hand wash. These measures are helping the brand further reduce its plastic consumption and waste, alongside measures like sourcing plant-based and post-consumer plastic.

Lacoste: Save Our Species

French lifestyle brand, Lacoste, partnered with the Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to raise awareness about endangered animals and improve the preservation of biodiversity. For this green marketing push, Lacoste issued limited edition clothing where its iconic crocodile logo was replaced with images of ten endangered species.

Patagonia: Don’t Buy This Jacket

Outdoor clothing & gear retailer Patagonia took on consumerism with its now iconic “Don’t Buy This Jacket” advertisement urging customers not to purchase the brand’s clothing. Patagonia is an environmentally conscious brand that already aims to lower its water and resource use. However, it wanted its customers to become aware that even sustainably made products have an environmental footprint and must be purchased responsibly. This brand wants its customers to only purchase the items they truly need.

Levi’s: Buy Better, Wear Longer

Levi’s also took on overconsumption with its “Buy Better, Wear Longer” sustainability marketing campaign, rolled out in April 2021. The campaign framed Levi’s denim as quality clothing that can and should last for generations. It encouraged Levi shoppers to wear, re-wear, and repurpose their denim. Levi’s denim is made to last. The brand wants its customers to take this to heart.

Zoya: Earth Day Exchange

Zoya is a clean beauty brand offering non-toxic, long-lasting nail polishes and other manicure products. The company runs an annual Earth Day promotion offering customers a $5 credit to exchange a bottle of their conventional toxic polish for a new bottle of Zoya’s non-toxic nail polish. Zoya’s customers can send old bottles of toxic nail polish in for Zoya to dispose of in an environmentally friendly way or pledge to do so themselves. There are zero purchasing maximums and Zoya uses the honor system for customers who don’t send old products in. This annual green marketing campaign helps get toxic polishes safely off the market, raise awareness about harmful cosmetics, and promote the brand.

Kia: Super Bowl 2017

Kia’s 2017 Super Bowl advertisement took actress Melissa McCarthy on a mishap-filled mission to save the planet. McCarthy’s attempts to save whales, trees, ice caps, and rhinos don’t turn out so well, but she does enjoy traveling to her destinations in a Kia Niro. The commercial promoted Kia’s new Niro hybrid crossover as an achievable, easy, and enjoyable way to save the planet.

Apple

Apple is known for its sustainability marketing. Some of its standouts include its climate change promise video, can an Apple grow a forest video, recycling program, advertisements making sustainability recommendations for other companies (targeting Samsung), and there’s sustainability in an iPhone promotion. Sustainability isn’t just something to talk about every now and then for Apple. It’s a core brand value that’s integrated into its operations, ESG initiatives, and green marketing.

Sustainable Marketing Made Easy

Feeling inspired by those seven ways to make an impact and seven companies making a difference? Together with DailyKarma, you can make a concrete difference in the environment by offsetting shipping-related plastic waste. We partnered with the World Sustainability Organization to help brands and their customers offset plastic consumption from shipping. To find out more, please email DailyKarma at patricia.dao@dailykarma.com.
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Eco-Friendly Marketing: The Way to Better Our Planet & Your Business

An eco-friendly marketing campaign promotes sustainable products, services, initiatives, organizations, and drives.

Green marketing is holistic work incorporating branding, marketing, advertising, and other promotional methods like environmentally friendly packaging, running off renewable energy, and supporting climate change charities.

Sustainability in Action

Eco-friendly business practices encompass green marketing and sustainable corporate actions. The business should draw in like-minded customers by practicing and living out its values.

That might seem daunting since there are so many operational areas, global issues, and standards to be concerned with. However, everything makes a difference and even small steps matter.

Here are some strategies and steps companies can take to promote corporate sustainability and green marketing.

Promote green marketing messages

The easiest thing to do is a marketing campaign promoting sustainable ideas or positioning the business as an eco-friendly option.

But be careful! Businesses that sell based on sustainability while failing to adhere to these principles can get in trouble with the market and end up with a damaged image.

Sustainable packaging

Cut down on resource overconsumption, landfill waste, and pollution by switching to sustainable packaging.

Sustainable packaging is made from responsibly sourced renewable materials, is recyclable, is designed to be safe and effective, and uses minimal resources.

Companies can extend their responsibilities to the community by encouraging customers to reuse or recycle packaging. Improperly disposed packaging is killing wildlife, poisoning waterways, and creating pollution. Packaging can be designed for reuse, or companies can offer recycling services.

An ethical value chain

Make your supply, production, and value chain clean, eco-friendly, and people-friendly. This sustainable practice encompasses ethical sourcing, renewable energy use, toxin-free manufacturing, green shipping, and more. There is a vast array of ethical and green practices to look into.

For example, a business can purchase renewable energy credits or certificates in order to balance out its current use of nonrenewable sources. Or focus on using fair wage labor from marginalized or at-risk people.

Sustainable packaging, utilization of repurposed recycled material, and an ethical value chain are great ways to lower your carbon footprint.

Give back to the community

Celebrate a milestone in your business or community by giving back with a green marketing project. You can sponsor or create a community initiative, such as planting trees, cleaning up trash, holding an educational seminar, or meeting some other eco goal.

Another option is to donate to a worthy charity already making an impact. Make a one-time donation in honor of a local hero, business event, or holiday. Or commit to a long-term charity sponsorship.

Partner with an eco-friendly organization

It’s not always easy being green. If sustainability is a little too much for your small business to take on, look for an organization to collaborate with.

Some organizations focus on building ethical supply chains, getting to carbon neutrality, caring for wildlife, or offsetting carbon emissions.

Look for specialist solutions in the area your business cares about the most or needs the most work on.

7 Successful Eco-Friendly Marketing Campaigns

LEGO

LEGO launched a holistic sustainability initiative intended to help build a better future through responsible business practices, sustainable materials, environmental protection, and children’s education, skill-building, development, and inspiration. It has several sustainable practices and green marketing strategies underway.

It aims to make all its packaging sustainable by 2025, make all core LEGO products from sustainable materials by 2030, reduce its CO2 impact, and eliminate factory-produced landfill waste by 2025. It partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to reduce its emissions and waste, maintain a cleaner supply chain, invest in renewable energy, and encourage employees to adopt cleaner practices.

With LEGO Replay, consumers can turn in LEGO bricks to be passed on to new users. This circular economy initiative has repurposed almost 750,000 lbs of LEGO bricks, donated to almost 225,000 children.

Most of LEGO’s marketing is focused on children – its intended customer base. These initiatives include RE:CODE, Build the Change, Play Days, crisis response disaster support, and local community engagement.

During Play Day for Children, LEGO invites deprived children to its factories for a free day of play. Other Play Days are run just for employees.

LEGO’s RE:CODE programs are learning events themed around recycling, air pollution, water pollution, and wildlife conservation. Children learn about real-world sustainability issues while building vital 21st-century skills, engaging in STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, art, and math), and inventing, creating, and coding robotic models. These programs take place in partnership with municipalities, private organizations, and local groups or can be offered through downloadable sessions.

Build the Change invites children to create LEGO models of ways to solve various environmental problems. One challenge asks them to invent a sanctuary that can keep koalas safe from wildfires. Another invites them to build a safe haven to protect seahorses from ocean pollution. The children learn about biodiversity and environmental problems and can send their ideas to a LEGO gallery.

The LEGO Foundation and Emergency Relief Response project support families in regions with armed conflict and natural disasters. The company also runs local community engagement programs where employees volunteer to bring transformational play to children.

LEGO is an example of a company embracing sustainability in everything it does.

The Dole Sunshine Company embraces #ZeroWaste with Ananas Anam

The Dole Sunshine Company is working towards a healthy and sustainable future for all. It’s working towards this goal with value chain innovations, strategic collaboration, and responsible business practices.

Dole is turning trash from its largest pineapple plantation into eco-friendly, plant-based materials. Its partner for this sustainability initiative is Ananas Anam – a developer and producer of pineapple trash-based textiles and leather alternatives. It’s partnering with Musa Fabric and the Kasilak Foundation to turn banana waste into sustainable fabric woven by marginalized communities.

Other green marketing campaigns include sponsoring an ocean race, creating NFT art, malnutrition facts advertising, and writing a letter to Pope Francis.

The Body Shop

The Body Shop is B Corp Certified and committed to a sustainable triple bottom line. This company has always been a pioneer in sustainable, ecological, and responsible business. In the beginning, its green business practices were limited to ethical sourcing and using natural ingredients.

Today, it’s sourcing plastic from marginalized Indian waste pickers, reducing its virgin plastic consumption, helping customers recycle their packaging, offering vegan and vegetarian products, and campaigning for cruelty-free and environmental legislation.

Social media plays an important role in raising community awareness around various social and environmental issues. The Twitter profile sparks conversation around topics like democracy, young people in politics, healthy oceans, the climate, and more. A serene and photogenic Instagram feed offers visibility into its value chain, educates customers on sustainable sourcing and natural ingredients, and encourages responsible consumption. Its Facebook page features green marketing promotions with convenient shopping options.

Chobani’s Giving Tree

Chobani celebrated its 10th anniversary in business by placing a Giving Tree in Grand Central Station. This marketing campaign invited commuters to activate the tree and give free yogurt to children in need. The Giving Tree featured large chimes and a digital overhead canopy that would light up and grow when visitors planted seeds.

The green marketing campaign donated more than 250,000 cups of yogurt to children in need and became a memorable example of experiential advertising at its finest.

Aerie and ONE TREE PLANTED

For the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Aerie and ONE TREE PLANTED collaborated to donate 5,000 trees. Aerie launched this green marketing venture to celebrate an Earth Day milestone.

Aerie and its parent company, American Eagle, are engaged in a larger plan to become carbon neutral by 2030. The company is working with farmers and manufacturers to lower its carbon footprint, reduce water consumption, source from sustainable farming, and incorporate recycled plastics into its clothing. It’s also working to help customers recycle used denim through AEO stores.

However, companies don’t have to revolutionize their industry, start value chain initiatives, or make long-term commitments to make a difference. This campaign was a one-time event, but it still made an impact and showcased Aerie’s values.

Heineken’s Packaging the Future

Heineken aims to become Carbon Neutral by 2030 through its far-reaching Brew a Better World undertaking that touches on zero waste, carbon neutrality, water impact, inclusion and diversity, safe workplaces, community impact, responsible alcohol use, and other sustainability goals.

One initiative is its Packaging the Future program launched to drive its packaging suppliers towards carbon neutrality. Heineken held an online summit with suppliers across its value chain and competitors like PepsiCo and Carrefour. It’s sponsoring suppliers to go through a Climate School that will help build sustainable competencies.

Packaging the Future’s green marketing also included social media posts on Twitter and LinkedIn, targeting both consumers and the business sector.

O’Neill Real-Time Recycling Experience

O’Neill is a surfwear brand dedicated to protecting and caring for the ocean. It uses sustainable materials, adheres to standards set out in the ILO and the UN Declaration on Human Rights within its supply chain, and takes on projects to preserve the ocean and combat pollution.

One of its green marketing programs was a green marketing event getting passers-by to reconsider their plastic use and how single-use products are treated.

An O’Neill ambassador approached glasses-wearing individuals who had tossed plastic into a bin and asked to take a selfie with their lenses on. After that, the ambassador chucked the glasses into the bin. The ambassador showed them how single-use plastics could be shredded and repurposed into other objects, leaving them with a miniature 3D-printed surfboard as a keepsake.

This sparked a conversation about why some plastics are seen as durable and valuable whereas others are simply discarded. Demonstrating shredding and 3D printing gave a real-time demonstration of the tangible benefits of recycling.

Green Marketing Made Easy

DailyKarma makes it easy to be green with done-for-you sustainable marketing campaign solutions.

We’ve recently gone beyond that and partnered with the World Sustainability Organization to help brands and their customers offset shipping-related plastic consumption.

Interested in learning more? Book a demo or email DailyKarma at patricia.dao@dailykarma.com.

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The Power of Cause Marketing: Surprising Statistics and Insights

The Power of Cause Marketing: Surprising Statistics and Insights

In today’s competitive market, offering a quality service or product is not enough to gain new customers. Marketing statistics prove that today’s consumers want to build a connection with their favorite selected brands. And what better way to connect with your audience than through a shared values around helping the greater good? That’s where cause marketing comes in.

Cause Marketing Explained

Connecting with a brand is not unlike connecting with a human. Think about the last time you made a new friend. That bond likely began when you recognized a shared interest. For-profit businesses mimic this bonding experience by adopting a cause to support and then rallying customers to unite in action for this chosen cause.

The secret to successful cause marketing is consistent and meaningful action to support the cause. A one-off fundraiser won’t be enough to take corporate social responsibility in the eye of the public. So, by partnering with a non-profit or steadily advocating for the common good, the “cause” becomes synonymous with the brand. In turn, consumers become loyal to the brand – and its advocacy.

Ultimately, cause marketing is a win-win situation. Both the for-profit business and non-profit cause earn increased brand awareness. And both usually build increased revenue streams.

How to Find the Right Cause for Your Brand

You have to be thoughtful when selecting the cause to support. You’re tying your brand to the cause, so consider advocacy that correlates with what you sell. This way, when you release cause-related marketing messages, it’s easy for your audience to recognize the value of the cause. Additionally, brands build trust and credibility with consumers when their services align with the cause.

For context, consider the following, if you sell a product that primarily benefits women, you may select a cause that supports women’s rights or advancement. On the other hand, if your product or service benefits kids, collaborate with a cause that also helps kids. When you consider whom you serve and what you offer, you can find a cause that naturally aligns with your purpose.

Dos and Don’ts in Cause Selection

  • Do specify one non-profit you will collaborate with to secure brand awareness for you and that cause. Specificity is more memorable than generically naming an advocacy effort. For example, consider the difference between saying you’re raising money for breast cancer research versus Susan G. Komen®. If you say breast cancer research, the call to action is more ambiguous. Where do they go to donate? How do they know their donation is going to a credible partner? If you specify your partner, these ambiguous questions disappear, freeing your consumers’ minds to focus on the good your brand is influencing.
  • Don’t follow the trends. If everyone is already supporting a cause, choose to be different. It will help you stand out with your cause-related marketing efforts.
  • Do consider your mission and staff culture when deciding what cause best aligns with your brand values. When you recognize your purpose, you can select a partner to enhance your efforts.
  • Don’t launch a marketing campaign without first testing your cause selection. Conduct a survey or focus group to see how your audience responds to your collaboration intentions. This will give your company time to work out any kinks in your marketing strategy before a campaign launches.Define what your primary message and call to action will be to engage consumers in your advocacy. Keep in mind your social responsibilities may have a financial obligation. So, if you will be committing a portion of the proceeds or donating inventory, explicitly state your intentions when you conduct marketing. Transparency will help you build trust with the audience and protect your bottom line by setting a financial limit.

Model Your Advocacy

It is essential that your business practices and the people you employ, especially the leadership, model actions that are consistent with your cause. For instance, if your company is going to be environmentally friendly, don’t just say so with advertising; use recycled materials to produce the product or packaging. Consumers are savvy; they know the difference between lip service and authenticity. And lip service can send sales spiraling in the wrong direction. Say it. Do it. Mean it. It’s that simple!

How Companies Can Utilize Cause Marketing

Cause marketing campaigns spotlight the non-profit and engage consumers in the advocacy. Generally, successful cause marketing campaigns go beyond asking for a donation or saying the company is donating. Instead, you want to find a hook that helps your consumer feel more engaged with your brand while supporting the shared cause through action.

Ideas for Your Cause Marketing Campaign

Buy One, Give One.The consumer is purchasing a valued product or service and putting good back into the world by ensuring the brand also donates the same product or service to the cause. With this strategy, the consumer knows their money is working double time.

A Portion of the Proceeds. It’s a simple and straightforward concept. First, the consumer buys the product or service you sell. Then, you commit to donating a portion of every sale to the cause.

Donate for a Discount. Encourage your audience to make a donation. Then, reward that action with a discount for your brand’s product or service.

Share the Message. Go further than just financial support. Share the message that influences social action. Write social media content that can educate your audience and encourage them to share it. Your consumers will be change agents for good while sharing a message tied to your brand identity.

Ten Most Important Cause Marketing Statistics

Marketing statistics demonstrate that cause marketing effectively enhances the bottom line and builds consumer loyalty. The ten following cause marketing statistics prove that you will be more successful if you adopt this marketing strategy.

Cause Marketing Statistic #1

According to 73% of respondents, company advocacy can increase both profits and community conditions. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #2 When tested, purpose-driven ads were more effective two-thirds of the time. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #3 Companies must positively impact society, according to 88% of survey respondents. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #4 Consumers are 88% more likely to purchase products or services from a brand with a clear purpose. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #5 Research indicates that 90% of Gen Z users expect brands to help with social and environmental issues. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #6 Competitive advantage is associated with companies that lead with purpose, according to 89% of executives. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #7 Companies that act with society’s best interests in mind build trust with 68% of consumers. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #8 On average, consumers spend 25% more with brands they trust. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #9 Brand authenticity is essential; according to 67% of consumers, transparent business practices prove authenticity. (Source)

Cause Marketing Statistic #10 Research indicates that 82% of consumers want a brand’s values to align with their own. (Source)

Top Tools to Help You Scale Your Cause Marketing Efforts

Those marketing statistics are compelling. So, now it’s time to take action. Roll out your cause marketing campaign with the help of these preferred business tools. 

  • DailyKarma – Take the guesswork out of building your cause marketing campaign. When you use DailyKarma to develop your marketing campaign, you will have access to curated content that’s simple to create, execute, and track. Learn how DailyKarma works.

  • SponsorUnited – If sponsorships are a cornerstone of your marketing strategy, especially in the sports and entertainment industry, then SponsorUnited can help you identify opportunities, build the framework, and monitor progress. Learn more about SportsUnited.

  • Neilsen Compass Planner – Good for any marketing planning, including cause marketing campaigns, the Nielsen Compass Planner helps companies make data-driven decisions to optimize media planning. With this tool, you can do more than benchmark and track; you can predict performance, which lets you maximize your media budget. Learn how Nielsen Compass Planner supports your marketing initiatives. 

    • Build a Brand that Makes an Impact

    With a partner like DailyKarma, you can kick off your cause marketing efforts with guided support and the tools you need to succeed. You’ll be positioned to thrive when you showcase how your brand’s purpose aligns with your audience’s passions. Book a demo or start your trial today to gain a competitive advantage in your market.

    It’s time to make the world a better place. And you’re primed to influence real change. Doing so will create a better tomorrow for future generations and increase your bottom line to ensure your brand stands the test of time.

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    11 Charity Donation Apps To Help Your Brand’s Purpose Driven Mission

    11 Charity Donation Apps To Help Your Brand’s Purpose Driven Mission

    If you’re anything like us at DailyKarma, you love giving back. Giving to charity is a fantastic way to up your karmic brownie points, but it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out the best way to make giving back easy for yourself, your customers, and the world.

    In this article, we’ve got you covered. We’ll dive head-first into what charity donation apps are and what types there are. We’ll also introduce you to our top 15 (that’s right, 15!) charity donation apps and help you figure out the best way to choose the best one for your needs.

    Of course, we’re on the list, too. While we’d give ourselves the top spot forever more, we know giving back isn’t one size fits all, and there’s enough room for all of us to do plenty of good in the world.

    What Are Charity Donation Apps?

    Charity donation apps are platforms for digital fundraising that connect like-minded online businesses, charities, and donors in one place. Whenever a consumer makes a purchase, donation apps enable people to do good by donating to charity. They also benefit brands by helping them become more purpose driven and connect with their audience on a deeper level.

    15 Charity Donation Apps for Your Online Business

    1. Shop for Good

    Shop for Good allows businesses to engage their consumers in supporting the charity throughout their shopping journey.  Business owners can run up to seven different campaigns like rounding up change to charity, receiving discounts for donations, and allowing customers to pick which charity the brand should donate a portion of sales to. The platform also comes with robust analytics to show brand donations coming in and how these campaigns have helped increase customer loyalty.

    Pricing: A wide range of plans are available for businesses of every size.

    More about Shop for Good

    2. Sell & Care Charity & Donation

    Sell & Care Charity & Donation connects charitable organizations with merchants and strong brands to create more resources and visibility for the organization. Businesses select products to include in their campaign and a portion of those sales is contributed to the organization of their choosing.

    Pricing: Free to install

    More about Sell & Care Charity & Donation

    3. Easy Donation

    Easy Donation is an app ideal for nonprofit organizations with stores that want to raise money for charity through their stores. For nonprofits stores, they offer product landing pages that allow people to make donations to charity, without having to purchase a product.

    Pricing: Free trial and paid plans from $6.99/mo

    More about Easy Donation

    4. DonateMate

    DonateMate enables customers to input the amount they want to give to charity. The amount is added to their cart. This app is ideal for new stores that want a quick and simple way to collect money for charity.

    Pricing: Free or paid plans from $10/mo

    More about DonateMate

    5. DonationPop

    DonationPop gives customers the ability to donate to a charity the business supports in checkout. This app is ideal for stores that want a donation option to pop up during checkout. This app gives a delightful surprise for shoppers with the option to give back before they finalize their purchases.

    Pricing: Free or $9.99/mo

    More about DonationPop

    6. Sprout: Plant Trees Grow Sales

    Sprout: Plant Trees Grow Sales is an app that allows business owners to plant a tree through total purchase values or specific products. The app is linked with Eden Reforestation Projects which is helping to restore natural habitats. A tree counter can be added to your website; it updates automatically every time a customer makes a purchase.

    Pricing: Free to install

    More about Sprout

    7. St. Jude Donation App

    This app links to your business’s check-out process by allowing consumers to choose a specific amount to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The app handles all payouts leaving business owners to focus on their business while still helping others.

    Pricing: Free

    More about St. Jude Donation

    8. Donate By Sale

    Donate By Sale lets business owners tell their customers about specific impacts their purchases will make. For example, “When you buy this product, we will plant three trees.” Impact rules for purchases are automatic and the app tracks all donations and makes payouts for the business owner.

    Pricing: Free to install

    More about Donate By Sale

    9. One Tree Planted At Checkout

    One Tree Planted makes it easy for business owners to support global sustainability. The app creates a line on its check-out page for consumers to donate one dollar and plant one tree. Hassle-free, it is a great way for businesses to help rebuild our world’s forests.

    Pricing: Free

    More about One Tree Planted At Checkout

    10. Donate Source – Donation

    This app adds a simple donation option to your store’s product and cart page. The customer can choose an amount from a drop-down menu or type in a custom amount. It’s easy and connects businesses to issues and organizations important to you.

    Pricing: From $2.99/mo

    More about Donate Source – Donation

    11. Share The Love by W3

    Share the Love by W3 partners with business owners to give their consumers a say in what charities the business will donate to. The donations are either a flat amount or a percentage of the cart total. Owners are responsible for the payout of donations collected.

    Pricing: $5.99/mo

    More about Share The Love by W3

    How to Choose a Charity Donation App

    In conclusion, the best way to choose the perfect charity donation app for you is to evaluate your needs and budget against the offerings of each app. No matter where you are in your giving journey, you can use one of these apps to make a difference worldwide.

    From everyone here at DailyKarma, thank you for joining us in helping the greater good!

    Olly is donating 15% of its sales today to SeekHer Foundation. Olly has partnered with the SeekHer Foundation to support research and programs benefiting women and practitioners who identify as BIPOC. To date, OLLY has given $100,000 towards these programs that help empower conversations about mental health. 

    Learn more about their mission here.

    Rare Beauty has launched its Holiday Gift Guide 6 DAYS OF GIFTING and is giving 15% off sitewide when customers donate $10 today. Rare Beauty has been donating 1% of its sales to the Rare Impact Fund to increase access to mental health services for all. This season of giving, they have special products that will make you feel extra good about the gifts that give back.

    Check out 6 Days of Gifting today.

    Pink Chicken NY just launched their Pinkie Banks Initiative and will be matching all donations made on Giving Tuesday. We admire Pink Chicken for highlighting the importance of giving back at a young age. This initiative will benefit multiple organizations such as Humble Design, CASA-NYC, and Hearts of Gold, among others. 

    Click here to see the Pinkie Bank in action!

    Trish McEvoy is donating 20% of sales to CityMeals on Wheels using Portion of Sales campaign. They have been passionate about supporting local New York organizations, which only shows their unparalleled commitment to their local community.

    Visit Trish McEvoy to learn more.

    Florence By Mills is giving away a special gift using our new feature Donate for Gift! Customers will get a special gift when they donate $15. This brand new campaign will benefit UNICEF, an organization close to founder Millie Bobbie Brown’s heart. (Fun fact: Mills is also a UNICEF Ambasssador!)

    See the new widget in action today. 

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    Giving Tuesday is a Special Day for Us at DailyKarma

    Giving Tuesday is a special day for us at DailyKarma. It’s a day that shines bright not only for our team but our amazing partners that have been working all year to cultivate a purpose-driven brand that engages their customers in giving at every touchpoint.

    This marks our 3rd official Giving Tuesday running our flagship product, Shop for Good. Each year gets sweeter and more rewarding for so many reasons. Firstly, the growth of brands joining the conscious consumerism movement has grown exponentially. When we first started this journey, we had a few hundred brands download our solution. Fast forward 3 years, and we have thousands launching campaigns at one time. This is a testament to the growing number of consumers that vote with their dollars and embrace brands that support the causes, communities, and organizations that are impacting our world for the better.

    It’s also been a personal joy for our team to get to know the influential marketers behind each purpose-driven brand. Our partners inspire us every day with their innovative ideas and enthusiasm toward integrating their mission into their consumer’s shopping experience. Many of our partners themselves give back in their personal lives, volunteer their time to organizations, and actively support the communities they live in. The heart these individuals give towards the brands they are growing and their own personal missions keeps growing each year and fills our team with pride and joy to be part of their giving journeys.

    Giving Tuesday wouldn’t be the same without highlighting the generosity of our many partners today. Thank you to all our partners and the bright star you shine on everyday shoppers that are looking for ways to make a difference.

    With Gratitude,
    Patty Dao / CEO & Co-Founder

    PS: Check out some of our favorite Giving Tuesday Campaigns from our Partners below! ⬇️ 

    Olly is donating 15% of its sales today to SeekHer Foundation. Olly has partnered with the SeekHer Foundation to support research and programs benefiting women and practitioners who identify as BIPOC. To date, OLLY has given $100,000 towards these programs that help empower conversations about mental health. 

    Learn more about their mission here.

    Rare Beauty has launched its Holiday Gift Guide 6 DAYS OF GIFTING and is giving 15% off sitewide when customers donate $10 today. Rare Beauty has been donating 1% of its sales to the Rare Impact Fund to increase access to mental health services for all. This season of giving, they have special products that will make you feel extra good about the gifts that give back.

    Check out 6 Days of Gifting today.

    Pink Chicken NY just launched their Pinkie Banks Initiative and will be matching all donations made on Giving Tuesday. We admire Pink Chicken for highlighting the importance of giving back at a young age. This initiative will benefit multiple organizations such as Humble Design, CASA-NYC, and Hearts of Gold, among others. 

    Click here to see the Pinkie Bank in action!

    Trish McEvoy is donating 20% of sales to CityMeals on Wheels using Portion of Sales campaign. They have been passionate about supporting local New York organizations, which only shows their unparalleled commitment to their local community.

    Visit Trish McEvoy to learn more.

    Florence By Mills is giving away a special gift using our new feature Donate for Gift! Customers will get a special gift when they donate $15. This brand new campaign will benefit UNICEF, an organization close to founder Millie Bobbie Brown’s heart. (Fun fact: Mills is also a UNICEF Ambasssador!)

    See the new widget in action today. 

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    Giving Tuesday: Everything You Need to Know

    Have you heard of International Siblings Day (April 10th)?

    How about International Coming Out Day (October 11th)?

    What about Giving Tuesday on November 29th?

    Whether you’re a business or an individual, it’s time to add this celebration of generosity to your calendar. Pssst, remember to check whether your mother’s birthday is coming up at the same time.

    Are you ready to learn all about Giving Tuesday, why it’s vital for your business, and how you can identify a cause mission that will make a difference to your community? Here at DailyKarma, we’re all about making cause marketing work for you and your Shopify store by strengthening brand loyalty.

    What is Giving Tuesday?

    In short, Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement all about encouraging people to sprinkle good deeds into their day. This day was launched in 2011 as a direct response to the self-focused shopping extravaganza of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The radical idea is to have an international day filled with volunteering and donating.

    Did you know that nearlya third of all charitable giving occurs at the end of the year? The holiday season makes people reflect on what’s important, and Giving Tuesday as a movement taps into that pre-existing charitable spirit. This is your moment as a business to encourage people to give and build awareness around causes of your choosing.

    If you’re an individual who wants to get involved with Giving Tuesday, but you’re thinking with times as tough as they are, you can’t possibly donate, we want you to remember that giving doesn’t have to be about monetary value. Every act of generosity is an act of giving, and we firmly believe you have plenty to contribute to your community or charity of choice, from helping your neighbor out, lending your voice to a cause, or donating time to a local homeless shelter.

    Why is Giving Tuesday Important?

    Giving Tuesday is vital because, similarly to how Black Friday helps businesses sway their accounts to be profitable for the year, it allows nonprofit organizations to raise an unprecedented amount of money compared to the rest of the year.

    It’s an opportunity for you to leverage your brand to create unique campaigns on a day dedicated to giving back.

    How Can Brands Benefit from Giving Tuesday?

    Giving Tuesday is a moment for you to explore the power of cause marketing. You’ll be surprised by just how much of an impact you can make on a cause you and your customers care about!

    You also benefit because many of today’s savvy customers care about the integrity of the businesses they choose to shop with. In fact, 1 in 3 consumers wants to spend more on companies engaged in social good. You see, you have more to gain than a warm fuzzy feeling and a clear conscience!

    Some extra benefits to your brand are:

    • Build Consumer Trust: when consumers shop somewhere that demonstrates values beyond profit and revenue, they are more likely to have a long-lasting relationship with that brand.
    • Good Publicity: brands that align themselves with Giving Tuesday get favorable media coverage and upped engagement on social media.
    • Your Employees: whether you’re a company of two or 2,000, 79% of all employees have stated that they prefer working for socially responsible companies. When an employee likes working somewhere, rates of attrition go down.

    How Can You Leverage Giving Tuesday as a Brand?

    You can get unimaginatively creative with giving back as a brand for Giving Tuesday. You’ve still got over a month to brainstorm and create a cause mission that will rock your consumer’s world.

    Here are some Giving Tuesday ideas for your brand:

    • Team volunteer day: it feels good to do good. Why not get a sign-up sheet for volunteering together on Giving Tuesday going? Whether it’s collecting trash on the beach, helping at a soup kitchen, or operating the lines at a local mental health hotline, your team is sure to benefit. As a bonus, your social media channels will also be filled with feel-good content.
    • Donate for discount: DailyKarma’s flagship donation campaign offers your customer a discount when they donate a preset amount to charity. This has been shown to increase average order value, cart conversions and develop deeper customer brand engagement.
    • Incentivize donations with a free product: put the good in social good by rewarding customers with a gift when donating. Try out DailyKarma‘s newest campaign, Donate for Gift.
    • Donate a portion of sales: showcase your commitment to a cause by displaying this campaign freely on your website and social media channels. This type of campaign donates a part of every sale and further increases brand loyalty with every sale.
    • Match donations: game, set, and match donations this Giving Tuesday. Bolster brand loyalty and impact on not-for-profits by matching your customer’s contributions.

    Identifying Your Cause Mission

    Fact is, you want to be doing good as a brand, but you also need your cause marketing campaign to reflect the values of your customers and your company. That’s no small feat!

    Here are some tips to help you identify your cause mission:

    #1 Stay in the here and now: What’s impacting your community today? October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, meaning that many communities will still have this vital fundraising campaign on their minds for Giving Tuesday.

    #2 Think local: support the communities your brand does business with

    #3 Be consistent: supporting your mission all year round is essential to ensuring you’re not impact-washing. Consumers want you to back your impact marketing year-round and not just roll it out when it’s useful for your bottom line.

    Freebie Guide to Giving Tuesday for Shopify Stores

    Do you want to learn more about cause categories, search and vet your ideal nonprofit partner, and how to stay compliant while doing good? We’ve got the perfect guide for you if you’re looking for ways of using Giving Tuesday alongside your Shopify Store! Download this free ultimate guide here and learn how to differentiate yourself online, drive conversions, and gain loyal customers to return to you with the power of giving – on Tuesday and beyond!

    About Shop for Good by DailyKarma

    Are you feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of having to organize a fundraising campaign for Giving Tuesday in a few short weeks? That overwhelm in businesses is precisely why we started DailyKarma in 2018. We build innovative solutions that help brands like yours leverage consumer power for the greater good.

    Our goal? Simple! We created Shop for Good by DailyKarma, Shopify’s premiere cause marketing platform. That means giving for Giving Tuesday (and beyond) has just become a whole lot more accessible for you and your brand.

    Check out some of your brand case studies here. You may have even been one of the consumers giving back by shopping with brands such as Rare Beauty, John Masters, Biossance, and Quay.

     

    We wish you a wonderful and successful Giving Tuesday and hope the spirit of giving back to communities lifts your brand up this November and beyond!

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    How To Use Your Store For Good This Giving Tuesday (And Beyond)

    Did you know that Giving Tuesday is just around the corner? This global generosity movement is happening worldwide on November 29th. You don’t want to miss out on using your Shopify store for good this Giving Tuesday and every day ending in Y!

    ‘How?’ do you ask?

    The answer is cause marketing, baby!

    Let us, the folks at DailyKarma, teach about how you can increase e-commerce sales and strengthen brand loyalty while being a catalyst for positive change.

    Pull up a chair, grab a strong cup of coffee with however many shots of pumpkin spice you need to rile you up for an essential lesson on using your business to help nonprofits thrive!

    Pssst, if you just want the bare bones of launching the most effective Giving Tuesday campaign in 2022, we put together a guide for that. Download it for absolutely free over here!

    Why Should You Use Your Store for Good?

    We find that there are two types of people who want to throw their business behind Giving Tuesday and up their social responsibility. Some do it for the greater good, and others know that corporate social responsibility (CSR, for short) is good for business. No judgment either way!

    Did you know that 42% of consumers view you based on their perception of your CSR activities? That’s almost half. Are you ready to take it one step further? Take a look at how brand activism influences consumer behavior.

    Using your Shopify store for good is a moral obligation for many people. It’s a fantastic way to give back to the communities that have helped you succeed. That means taking a closer look at who your customer base is and giving money to causes that impact them directly.

    Additionally, a Giving Tuesday campaign helps engage your customers and clients. When you discuss the causes that are important to you as a company, you can engage with customers in new and vital ways; rather than always connecting around a product or service, which can feel empty at times, talking about the bigger picture creates positive relationships with your clients.

    Creative Ways to Give with Shopify

    At DailyKarma, we created Shop For Good as an ideal plug-in for your Shopify store that helps impact customer loyalty by giving back to charity. In this section, we’ll explore some creative ways you can give back this Giving Tuesday using Shop for Good.

    Our favorite analogy is that if you had to choose between two cakes that are the same price, but one of them has icing on it, which would you choose? Obviously, you’d choose the one with icing; you’re not a monster! (Hush, Debbie Downer, nobody wants to hear that you don’t have a sweet tooth.)

    With Shop for Good, our icing, sprinkles, and cinnamon swirl are purpose, values, and impact.

    Impact Widgets for Impactful Cause Marketing

    When your customer reaches the checkout area, we provide Impact Widgets that incentivize and gently encourage them to join in on your shared mission to impact the world with their purchase.

    Creative Ways to Contribute As a Business

    Portion of Sales: there’s something about the brand that is willing to put its money where its charity mouth is by designating a part of its sales. Display your campaign on your website to proudly show your customers how they contribute to the greater good.

    Donation Matching: by matching whatever donation your customer is giving, you maximize your impact and work together to create change. Remember when your parents used to match your donation when you were at school doing charitable activities? Same idea! Giving Tuesday firmly believes that we can make more of an impact together. This is so important that more ways to contribute together are coming up later.

    Creative Ways Customers Can Contribute

    Rally your customers around your mission and up customer engagement and impact without affecting your margins in the process.

    Round-up at Checkout: it’s the lightest touch of giving! It’s the digital version of telling someone to “Keep the change!” Engage your customers by giving them a chance to donate their change to the cause of your choice at the cart or checkout level. Even the tiniest bit can make a big difference when we rally together.

    Donation Tiers ($1, $5, $10): let’s be honest, sometimes being faced with a blank box for a set amount you can donate leads to decision paralysis. In the end, many potential donators choose nothing because they’re unsure of what is expected. You take the guesswork out of it by giving preset tiers ranging from $1 to $10.

    $1 at Checkout: For the price of a (very cheap) cup of coffee, your customers can help your cause of choice. Who doesn’t have $1 to add to their order to give to a good cause? This amount is low enough to become a no-brainer and thus become a catalyst for good.

    Creative Ways to Contribute Together

    These ways rely on the beauty of reward psychology!

    Gift with Donation: you remember the pie analogy. In this case, the whipped cream, icing, and chocolate swirl are a little gift you include with an order. This doesn’t have to be expensive; even something small can have a high perceived value and turn your new customer into a long-term fan.

    Donate for Discount: the beauty of donating for a discount is that you’re engaging in reciprocity; in this instance, it is known boostAOV by a whopping 61%! They give to charity; you provide them with a discount. That’s the giving spirit all over! Perfect for Giving Tuesday. And beyond.

    DailyKarma and Shop for Good

    At DailyKarma, our mission is to increase e-commerce sales and strengthen brand loyalty with the beauty of cause marketing. We offer a robust suite of free, easy-to-install campaigns ready to launch in minutes. Easy peasy if you have just noticed that Giving Tuesday is only weeks (or days) away!

    Book a free demo today to see how easy it is for yourself!

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    Price or Purpose? How Brand Activism Influences Consumer Behavior

    For more than half of American consumers (58%), brand activism has an impact on their impression of a brand, as well as their purchasing behavior. In other words, when a shopper cares about what a brand has to say about social issues, their decision to purchase can come down to the brand’s willingness to take a stance.

    ✅ Trust and Brand action are more likely to command a premium over Brand Image. Even more surprising, customers believe the good a brand does in the world is nearly as important as previously “earned trust” when making a buying decision. The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer (The Cycle of Distrust)

    Say a shopper sees two product listings for a toothbrush on Amazon. One toothbrush is environmentally friendly, while the other is not. There’s a good chance that the customer will purchase the eco-friendly toothbrush because they care that their dollars are going toward a brand that promotes sustainability. Offering green products can increase your buyer pool and fill it with other people who also care for the environment — a win-win!

    ✅ The 3 Statistics Listed Above Come From The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer (The Cycle of Distrust).

    Recently, Unilever announced that its purpose-led, Sustainable Living Brands are growing 69% faster than the rest of the business and delivering 75% of the company’s growth. “We believe the evidence is clear and compelling that brands with purpose grow. Purpose creates relevance for a brand, it drives talkability, builds penetration and reduces price elasticity. In fact, we believe this so strongly that we are prepared to commit that in the future, every Unilever brand will be a brand with purpose.” – Unilever CEO Alan Jope at the Deutsche Bank Global Consumer Conference in Paris.

    Mission or Cost: What’s More Important?

    One of the most impactful ways consumers have taken action on climate change in recent years is through buying power. Many are willing to spend more money for sustainability, and 78% say they expect brands to be doing their part for the environment. Right now, however, inflation has consumers highly concerned with cost as well (a staggering 72% say inflation has affected their family’s spending). So when it comes to the decision to click that buy button, which is more important: eco-friendliness or low price?

    The answer is that competitive prices and commitment to sustainability both rank among consumers’ **top 5 reasons** for choosing to buy from a specific brand. On top of that, the secondhand market has found a spotlight amid shoppers’ desire to prioritize saving the planet and saving money.

    Purpose-Driven brands deliver value in quality products and unbeatable support but go a step deeper by wanting to connect with people in more meaningful ways, to form more valuable relationships based on a shared mission and values bigger than the product or even the brand itself.

    How to Activate & Amplify Your Brand’s Activism Efforts

    Building a Successful Cause Marketing Campaign

    A successful cause marketing campaign can bring many benefits, from generating new leads to creating loyalty and trust among your customers. Done properly, cause marketing will help both your business and your nonprofit partner. It’s important to make a strategic marketing plan before launching your campaign to ensure that you are maximizing impact and sales.

    Identify your cause

    A cause marketing campaign should reflect the values of your company and your customers. While there are examples of successful partnerships between organizations with nothing obvious in common, cause marketing will come off as more genuine if the cause is related to your brand in some way. Knowing your audience and constructing a campaign around their values will not only help the nonprofit you are involved with but will also increase loyalty to your brand.

    Additionally, your employees will be more willing to participate if it’s something they believe in. Their passion will show through their work, enhancing the outcomes for the nonprofit.

    • What kinds and how many consumers are likely to care about our company’s level and type of activism?
    • What relevant cause(s) are more consistent with our brand DNA and core values?
    • Will consumers believe that our company authentically and passionately believes in the cause(s) we support?
    • What actions can we take to support the cause(s) and show our stance on the issue?
    • Will the cost of implementation require us to raise our prices? Will our consumers be willing to pay a little more?
    • Does the governance structure and executive leadership understand how and why brand activism makes a difference?

    Determine your contribution

    Monetary contributions aren’t the only way companies can help a cause. Often money isn’t enough to convince consumers, and monetary gifts can seem disingenuous or even lazy. Furthermore, many small businesses might not have the budget to write a large check. Luckily, businesses and marketing departments have more to offer than just money.

    • Video services for charity functions
    • Direct mail campaigns
    • Email marketing campaigns
    • Event planning
    • Photography for social media
    • Advertising campaign ideas
    • Copywriting for print and social media
    • Donations of products and services
    • Volunteer groups from your company

    These services can help form a strong association between your products and your company’s nonprofit work.

    However, even monetary support can be funded in a variety of ways. For example, your company could create a promotion that donates a certain amount to a nonprofit for every sale you make on a specific product or service.

    Involve your audience

    Your audience can be a driving force in your cause marketing campaign if you let them. By using social media or creating a custom-built landing page, you can motivate your audience to participate in many ways.

    • Donating to the cause
    • Sharing your social media posts to spread awareness
    • Interacting with your nonprofit partners
    • Participating in an event

    Using customer relationship management (CRM) software can help you pursue the right audience for your cause marketing while raising awareness for your nonprofit partners. It can also help ensure you follow up and create personalized messages of gratitude and appreciation. Making your audience feel involved will give them a sense of responsibility—as 96% of people feel their own actions can make a difference. Messaging and outreach that validates these feelings can be a great way to drive engagement.

    Co-promote with a nonprofit

    The campaign will likely get more traction if both you and your nonprofit partner are promoting it.

    • Tag each other in social media posts.
    • Announce your affiliation in a newsletter.
    • Send a joint press release to news outlets.
    • Write blog posts about the experience.
    • Use each other’s logos in marketing campaigns.

    Some of the most successful cause marketing campaigns developed omnichannel marketing strategies to increase awareness and exposure. Marketing automation can help you strategize by freeing you of the repetitive tasks of posting to social media or sending emails.

    One solution businesses are pursuing is cause marketing. Cause marketing involves a collaboration between a for-profit business and a nonprofit organization for a common benefit. Cause marketing can also refer to social or charitable campaigns put on by for-profit brands.

    Typically, a brand’s association with a nonprofit will boost its corporate social responsibility. The nonprofit, in exchange for their ethical contributions to the collaboration, create more awareness for their organization.

    As new generations bring in new values, businesses must learn to pivot their strategies in order to keep up. Businesses that care about sustainability and ethics are at the top of consumers’ lists, and cause marketing can help bring a business’s social responsibility to their customers’ attention.

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    3 Steps to Avoid Impact Washing in 2022

    What is Impact Washing?

    We’ve seen a shift in consumer culture, with shoppers increasingly backing brands that support causes they care about and make a strong effort to mitigate harm. A recent Shop for Good case study showed companies who have tailored their approach to acknowledge this change and implemented cause-based marketing saw an increase in customers, loyalty from those consumers, and higher average order values during their cause campaigns. This shift is backed by data. According to Cone/Echo and Deloitte; given similar price and quality of products, 91% of consumers said they would likely switch to purchasing from a brand that supports a cause they believe in, 82% of consumers would buy from a company that supports issues they care about, and 90% of Gen Z-ers believe companies must take action to help social and environmental issues. So what should your business do? DailyKarma created the 5-star Shop For Good app to guide your brand in successful cause marketing campaigns and we’ve put together this Guide to Avoid Impact Washing to help you along your conscious e-commerce journey.

    Consumers are more diligent in holding brands accountable today than ever before. When companies claim to be socially conscious or sustainable but do not back those claims up with real impact, consumers see through the empty claims and trendy, band-wagon marketing campaigns. Many consumers become activists in calling out and shaming these companies who are not responsible for their claims. Some of the most visible brands are being called out for greenwashing. H&M has been under-fire lately for its recycling marketing campaigns because the brand is one of the largest producers of fabric waste. Consumers and protection groups are holding the fast-fashion giant accountable via protests, online shaming, and lawsuits. A previous example of a similar issue is with Tabacco companies and public health; tobacco companies spent millions uncovering the research proving their products led to cancer, simultaneously denied these claims, and spent even more in marketing and lobbying to protect their ability to sell their harmful products. It’s no surprise the oil and gas industry has been using the same playbook – but with the availability of information and the sharability of social media, consumers and special interest groups are taking notice and they’re taking aim. A recent report from Earthworks uncovers the deceptive practices of greenwashing by the top-four oil and gas companies over the past decade. The issue of impact washing is similar in nature and result; brands that are not transparent in their giving process, do not build impact into their brand identity, and do not produce the impact they claim in their marketing are cast into doubt and confronted by critics. This phenomenon is not new but the pushback on it is happening now more and louder than ever.

    Are you a company that wants to launch cause marketing initiatives, but wants to avoid impact washing? It can be tough to figure out how to prevent impact washing when it seems like even the companies with the most resources are doing it. And if you’re not sure how to avoid it, you’re definitely not alone. We’ve put together this guide with three principles of reframing your brand identity, commitment to being a good actor, and transparency of giving that will help your company authentically give back and stay true to itself while avoiding impact washing.

    Build Impact into Brand Identity

    The first way to avoid impact washing is to build impact into your brand identity. Think of the long-term impact your company intends to make and build it into the mission of the company. Make sure that your employees are a part of this process so that they have a sense of agency and responsibility to the causes and don’t have resentment that may come with the additional work of the new campaigns. Now, share this new mission statement with your community. Utilize your social media presence and website to message this commitment and build cause marketing into your channels. One of the brands experiencing great success with this is Venus William’s company, Eleven. They built out a landing page to share with their consumers and future customers the problem of wage inequality and the nonprofit, Girls Inc., they are supporting to fight that issue. Another company using cause marketing with success is Biossance and their work supporting our oceans. They promote their support of Oceana throughout the site and in various ways so that their customers can learn about the issue and know the different options they have to join in on the support. Not only has Biossance incorporated its mission statement into its brand online, but it also created packaging and marketing materials to champion its cause. When you build impact into your brand identity, customers associate your brand with the causes they support and their buying habit no longer consists of just them, it’s now also about supporting what matters most to them. This is a great way to start building trust with potential and current customers alike. If you’d like to learn more about adding impact to your mission statement, DailyKarma & Shopify put together a great event you can watch on demand that discusses sustainable giving and building a values-based company.

    Commit to Good Throughout the Year

    The most consistent way to avoid impact washing is to demonstrate commitment to your cause marketing. It’s not enough to talk about your commitment to causes when it’s convenient or trendy – you need to show activity over the long term and prove to your customer base it’s not just a ploy. That means setting impact goals and planning out different campaigns throughout the year – commitment is showing your support for the LGBTQA+ community in May for International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia and in October for LGBTQA+ History Month, not just in June for Pride. Pick a year-long strategy and share it with your community. Whether you choose to support one cause each quarter or twelve causes throughout the year, you’ll be showing your consumers you’re not just in it when it’s convenient or for the IG likes, it means you’re committing to being a force for good all year long. To support you in this planning, DailyKarma has a blog highlighting different Awareness Days you can build campaigns around and then choose the nonprofits that support each of the causes you’re committing to. One of the best ways to choose which causes to support is by asking your customers! Create a social media poll and ask people what their top three favorite causes are, then follow up with them on those topics and build a movement of support. You can also do this through surveys on your website or even in-store. Now that you know the causes that are important to your customers, you can start planning how you’ll support each one with cause marketing and nonprofit support. You don’t have to do this alone, reach out to the DailyKarma team for best practices and paid options, they are the experts in cause marketing and have been awarded by Shopify year after year!

    Be Transparent About Your Giving

    The most impactful way to avoid impact washing is to ensure the nonprofits you are supporting are vetted and follow proper compliance measures. Vetting each nonprofit you choose using Charity Navigator is an important step in creating your cause campaign because you’re doing the legwork to show your consumers their dollars are going to a trusted organization that will create real change in the issue they care about. Next, you need to understand and abide by all commercial coventurer laws. More than 19 states have special regulations governing these things (language requirements, disclosures, etc.). To remain compliant, brands must register in different states for each nonprofit they support; that means that if you sell to shoppers spread across the country, you’ll need to register in all of the states where your shoppers live – but trust us, it’s complicated. If you see the benefits of making a positive impact through cause marketing and you just want to get your campaigns going, Shop for Good and the DailyKarma Foundation can help. We have secured all required registrations, alleviating the hefty compliance hurdles and passing along substantial cost savings, for brands to launch flexible give-back campaigns creatively throughout the year. To avoid impact washing, be transparent in your giving process and share these qualifications and investments with your community regularly. When you’re transparent about where the money is going and what it’s being used for, people are more likely to trust your company and become loyal and excited customers.

    Impact washing is a serious issue, but with the right tools and resources, you can avoid it. If your brand is looking for more help in avoiding impact washing, or if you want a full-service solution that takes all of the guesswork out of it for you, Shop for Good is here to help. Our commitment is to help you create an ethical marketing campaign that will reflect positively on your company and help you increase sales along with customer loyalty. If you’re ready to take the first step toward avoiding impact washing, don’t hesitate and contact us today.

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    Inspiring Breast Cancer Cause Marketing Campaigns

    It’s that time of year again. Spring has sprung. Summer has offered an unwanted sauna sesh. And now it’s time for Fall!

    Now that doesn’t just mean it’s time for Pumpkin Spice everything or time to break out the Halloween candy and costumes. It means it’s time to get out all things pink and plan your upcoming Breast Cancer Awareness campaign!

    There are so many impactful Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns we’ve seen and been a part of over the years. To support great brands and the many charitable organizations they give back to, we’ve highlighted our top five BCA campaigns to help inspire ideas for your brand:

    Explore Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign Inspiration

    Jewelry Brands | Apparel Brands | Cosmetic Brands | Food & Drink Brands

    Accessories

    Adina’s Jewels

    Adina’s Jewels is an NYC labor of love. Founded independently by Adina Kamkhatchi and named after her late grandmother, the fashion brand took off with the help of her mother and brother. Today, Adina’s is a gorgeous line adorning people all over the world. Adina’s partnered this year with BCRF to match all round-up customer donations. This month, 10% off all purchases from the Pink Collection supports BCRF!

    Banglez Bazar

    Banglez Bazar is as mission-driven as you can get. The incredible craftsmanship on display at marketplaces in South Asia was Christina’s inspiration. Supporting the silk farmers, embroiderers, and artisans who created each piece became her mission. Christina weaves together her zeal for charitable giving and her travel-honed skills in her own jewelry line. Everything is carefully curated and beautiful. Find something you love, donate at checkout, and support Keep-A-Breast!

    Beth Jewelry

    Beth Jewelry was created with an eye for simple, playful, airy designs. It was born at Southern California arts and crafts shows and grew to the powerhouse jewelry line it is today. Every piece speaks with Beth’s voice, representing something close to her heart, and she goes above and beyond to create new pieces with an intention. This year alone, she’s introduced the rainbow heart bracelet to celebrate diversity a sweet flower necklace to support voting rights. 5% of all sales and 15% of the handmade, sterling silver “boobies” necklace sales support BCRF!

    Ettika

    A family business based out of and inspired by Los Angeles, Ettika believes that confidence is the greatest accessory. Their gorgeous pieces are a close second. Created to boost that confidence and let you express your best self, Ettika is timeless, authentic, and unique. To make their work more impressive, they donate to a rotating selection of charities year-round. Get 15% off your purchase with a $5 donation supporting the Keep A Breast Foundation!

    Lori Bonn Design, Inc.

    Founder Lori left the corporate world to embrace her creativity and live her passion, and Lori Bonn Design is for everyone who wants to do the same. Each piece’s sparkle is here to represent your inner sparkle, and remind you to share it with the world and embrace it in others. 100% of all proceeds from the We Need A Cure charm and necklace supports Keep A Breast!

    Mignonne Gavigan

    “Serendipity” is more than just a word to Mignonne Gavigan. It’s a lived experience. From a chance fabric accessory to a written-in-the-stars partnership, Mignonne’s journey from cult following to major brand feels a little bit magical. Each piece is a work of art and a doorway to something unexpected. Get 15% off your purchase with a $5 donation to support BCRF!

    RAEN

    RAEN was founded by surfers and change-makers to build the kind of eyewear they wanted to see (and see through). RAEN thrives because of its communal spirit and everyone wearing a pair. That made deciding to give it their all for Breast Cancer Awareness Month easy. RAEN came together to support their brand ambassadors, customers, friends, and coworkers affected without a second thought. For every purchase made, $20 will go to support Keep A Breast!

    Shop Charged

    Shop Charged isn’t a collection of products, it’s a collection of tools to keep in your self care-belt. Focused on healing and wellness, Shop Charged brings the sacred and the self together to recharge your entire energetic being. Charged is spreading that well-being throughout the community, hand-picking charities each month to support. Save 15% when you donate $5 to support Keep A Breast!

    Apparel

    Adam Block Design

    Los Angeles-born and Las Vegas-based, Adam Block Design is dedicated to highlighting all the best aspects of Greek Life. The core Greek values? Sister/Brotherhood, Leadership, Philanthropy, and Fun Memories. Adam Block’s core values? Originality, Happiness, and Awesomeness! Their commitment to community spreads beyond the Greek family, and their charitable efforts reflect that. A portion of all F🎀ck Cancer t-shirt sales this month supports the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF)!

    Felina

    The Felina woman is bold. She’s an individual. She works hard, plays hard, and still practices self-care and self-love. Felina’s mission is to support all women of all shapes and sizes in achieving their goals and standing out from the crowd. Felina’s philosophy is all about creating a community of women who support and empower each other. All apparel is comfortable, stylish, and high-quality. Get 20% off all Donate for Discount styles with a $1 donation supporting BCRF!

    Freedom Rave Wear

    Freedom Rave Wear is the embodiment of PLUR – Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. It was born out of a commitment to the festival community and a deep appreciation for all the fashion that goes with it. FRW grew from one couple in their living room to the same (now married!) couple with a full team and office space. Not only are their styles here to spread joy, each piece of clothing is designed and made with an eye toward its environmental, social, and economic impact. 10% of all proceeds from the Strawberry Tie Dye sets support BCRF!

    Krimson Klover

    To get an idea of who Krimson Klover is, all you need to know is founder Rhonda Swenson’s biggest goal – being able to ski until she’s 90. They’re creating clothing to augment your adventures and help you every step of the way as you live your biggest life possible. Krimson Klover is slow fashion, where everything is sustainable, ethically sourced, and made with intention. Get 10% off your order when you donate $10 to support BCPP!

    Lunautics

    Lunautics was born out of the love and exhilaration of music festivals and hasn’t stopped grooving for a second since. A small business that’s not looking to stop growing, Lunautics is for the community first and foremost. Their breast cancer campaign is just one of several past and many many more to come highlighting an important cause. Every product is imbued with the spirit of creativity and diversity. All beauty products are vegan and cruelty-free. 10% of all sales from the Moobies collection supports BCRF!

    Marisa in Motion

    Marisa in Motion founder, Marisa Fuller, has a story to tell. After spending 20 years in advertising, she put her all into transforming her love of Pilates into her full-time job. Not only did she open her own Pilates studio, she started designing the awesome apparel you’re looking at now. For Marisa, Pilates was a way to get through the tough times in life, including undergoing preventative surgeries for breast cancer. Her mission is to share that strength and kinship with the global Pilates community. So far, Marisa in Motion has raised $2,342 for breast cancer research! 10% of all proceeds support BCRF, Keep A Breast, NBCF, and the Previvor Organization! Especially feeling the holiday spirit? Add on a customized donation at checkout.

    Maximum Beauties LLC

    For Summer, the inspiration for Maximum Beauties LLC comes from her two daughters. The unique styles showcased on Maximum Beauties come from an appreciation of their unique styles and a shared passion for fashion. Beyond clothing, Maximum Beauties is a brand that advocates for its communities and works full-time to lift women up. 10% of all purchases support BCRF, Keep A Breast, and NBCF!

    Beauty

    Babe Lash

    Babe Lash is all about feeling beautiful. Beauty isn’t a specific collection of features, either. For Babe Lash, beauty is “easy, lighthearted, and fun.” They’re on a mission to inspire confidence and help you embrace the individual things that make you beautiful. This October, Babe Lash is empowering all the babes to get educated and get in the habit of self-exams for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Round up any of your purchases to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF)!

    Honua Skincare

    Honua Skincare is the synthesis of everything near and dear to Kapua Browning. It brings together her love of skincare and her years of experience as an esthetician with her Hawaiian culture. Honua is more than skincare. It’s a ritual and vehicle to bring aloha into the world. Honua’s success comes from its deep respect for Mother Earth, the heart of the company, and its integration of traditional Hawaiian healing practices. 30% of all proceeds from the MALU SPF30 Protecting Day Cream supports the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP)!

    KORA Organics

    Kora Organics is formulated to make your skin the healthiest it can be with organic, natural ingredients. Kora is COSMOS-certified, non-toxic, and cruelty-free. Your skin deserves the best, and with Kora, you can be confident that you’re getting it. Shop with Kora, and you’ll be helping charitable organizations year-round. Add on a donation at checkout to support Keep A Breast, Sisters Network Inc, and Breast Cancer Charities of America (if you’re in the US); or NBCF, Australian Breast Cancer Research, and the McGrath Foundation (if you’re in Australia!)

    SEN Organics

    In Vietnamese, “hae sen” means “lotus flower.” SEN Organics derived its name there, choosing to embody everything that the lotus flower represents. For themselves and for their community, the three sisters who founded the brand strive to hold purity, enlightenment, hope, and strength at their core. SEN Organics is free of all 1,328 toxic chemicals recognized by the EU, meaning you can count on every product to be truly clean. 40% of all sales of the Joyful lipstick supports the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center!

    Food & Drink

    JUST Water

    JUST Water knows that it’s more than just water. Every bottle is an encouragement to make conscious choices for the planet. Every sip inspires you to feel good and go out and do good for your community. JUST is investing in their local community of Glen Falls, NY, and in their global community. Their commitment to the Earth is unshakable, so every bottle is 100% recyclable with a 74% carbon emissions reduction over plastic. They’re even certified by the Forest Stewardship Council! JUST is here to get involved with all the causes that impact their world, making the pink collection their second socially-conscious effort alongside the #VoteReady campaign. 25% of all pink carton sales support BCRF, as does 100% of all donations collected when you round up at checkout!

    Lonesome Rider Coffee Company

    The lonesome rider of Lonesome Rider Coffee Company could be any one of us, searching for our dreams, wherever the road takes us. Joe Hale started making coffee to bring his childhood memories, waking up to the smell, and the love that comes with it to his community. Each bag of beans combines Western cowboy lore with incredible quality from around the world, and every purchase supports veterans’ organizations. 25% of all proceeds from the breast cancer awareness product line supports BCRF, Keep A Breast, and NBCF!

    Milkweed

    Milkweed is built on partnerships. Based out of Burlington, Vermont, Monarch and the Milkweed hatched these delicious cannabis confections by working hand-in-hand with members all across the restaurant community. They’re an intersection of fine dining and local living. For each piece sold, $2 will go to support Keep A Breast!

    Let’s all be inspired this fall! Take the first step and start planning your next campaign.

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