Used Textbooks for Social Change

The Problem: University textbooks are expensive.  Many poorer students can’t afford to buy the textbooks necessary for their university course.

What the organization does: It buys used textbooks from students who are finishing university.  It then sells these textbooks to poor students at a cheap price

How the organization makes money: The poor students a small price for the cheap textbooks.  This money is then put back into the company, and used to buy more used textbooks from graduating students.

Vision Springs

The Problem: Many people in poor countries have bad eyesight, but can not afford to buy glasses.  Many people can not get jobs because of their eyesight.

What the organization does: It produces eye-glasses, and sells them to people in poor countries at a very cheap price.

How the organization makes money: The organization neither makes money nor loses money.  The amount of money that they charge for the glasses is exactly the same amount that it costs to make the glasses.

Cambodia Knits

The Problem: Poverty is an extreme problem in Cambodia.  Many of the people are so poor they can not even afford to feed their families.

What the organization does: It trains Cambodian woman to knit, and then it sells their handmade crafts on the Internet.

How the organization makes money: People from all over the world buy these handmade knit crafts.  This money is then used to support the lives of the poor women who make them, and also to train more women.

Water for Everyone

The Problem:  Many people in poor countries don’t have clean drinking water

What the organization does: It creates water filtration devices.  (“filtration device” is something that cleans water.)

How the organization makes money: In richer first world countries, the company sells these water filtration devices for home use.  They sell them at a high price, and make extra money on them.  They then use this extra money to give away these same devices in poor countries.

Divine Chocolate

The Problem:  Although chocolate is a huge business, the farmers in poor countries who actually grow the cocoa beans (necessary for chocolate) are often paid next to nothing for their work

What the organization does: It enters into a partnership with the farmers.  It sells the chocolate abroad, and gives most of the profit back to the farmers themselves.

How the organization makes money: By selling the chocolate in first world countries.

The Elvis & Kresse Organisation

The Problem:  Every year lots of plastic is thrown away into garbage dumps

What the organization does: It takes the plastic from garbage dumps and turns it into fashionable luggage, which can then be sold.

How the organization makes money: By selling the fashionable luggage.