With all of the excitement around Pivot Power and Cloak, we haven’t blogged much about Petal Drops. Petal Drops is now shipping and I’m thrilled. I love the design and the final product looks beautiful.
A lot of my personal background is in environmental enterprises and non-profit. So, naturally, I’ve been excited about Petal Drops from the start. I love products that help us re-use waste – in this case water bottles. I’m particularly thrilled that we are using green raw materials, opting for minimalist packaging and sourcing the manufacturing locally. Overall, the carbon footprint and environmental impact is very low.
Now I have one more reason to love Petal Drops. Our fulfillment house introduced us to a social enterprise to do our kitting work: tying on the label with a string. The non-profit Handi-Crafters employs people with disabilities, and they have found some very capable people to do our kitting work. The US Department of Labor reports that only 55.8% of Americans with disabilities are employed. Employment brings confidence and allows disabled people to fully participate in community and find independence. And, from what we hear, the Handi-Crafters team is enjoying the work we’ve sourced with them.
One of the reasons I love social enterprises is that they provide market-based solutions to social problems. So, it’s more than just making money and it’s more than just charity. It’s a hybrid that can lead to efficiency and help build a healthy, balanced economy. Sometimes this comes in the form of a for-profit, like the last company I worked for, Tri-State Biodiesel. Sometimes this comes in the form of a non-profit like Handi-Crafters.
10 Comments
jovena | 07/01/2010 12:10 PM
Also check out this video about Handi-Crafters: http://www.handi-crafters.org/overviewvideo.htm
Brian | 07/01/2010 12:33 PM
I like the post Jovena. Petal Drops is a great example of a community-sourced solution with a multi-faceted impact that makes the product that much more valuable.
Invention Addicti | 07/01/2010 12:47 PM
I think this is so awesome. You guys take it to another level by getting Handi-Crafters on board.
I’m even more proud to be part of the Quirky community.
-Stephen
Bikr (Josh Wright) | 07/01/2010 1:56 PM
Epic! Very happy to hear this, and be a part of Quirky.. This is just great!
McCoy | 07/01/2010 3:46 PM
This is great, the title threw me off at first glance, until I read further and saw that is the name they go by. This is awesome though, makes me want to purchase a few more.
Dhanya | 07/01/2010 4:02 PM
I am so proud to be part of a great community as Quirky, you guys should be proud of yourselves in doing such great work, and looking at their beautiful smiles just made my day! *_*
Dhanya | 07/01/2010 4:06 PM
Quirky, you guys are the best, keep up the great work.
Michael M | 07/02/2010 3:05 AM
Like to see more of this. Thanks.
Jovena | 07/05/2010 10:29 AM
I’m very pleased by the comments and happy that the Quirky community supports this.
Trevor J | 07/05/2010 9:51 PM
I fully support this, on the side I work with a company that finds ways to foster independence and autonomy for adults with various disabilities. It is great to know that that opportunities like this are out there and being accessed!