23 November, 2006

Doing Well by Doing Good

Let’s all do the earth a favor this holiday season: let’s shop at Macy’s.
No, I don’t own stock in Macy’s.
I recently heard a news article on the radio. Macy’s has joined an increasing number of companies that is growing a conscience. They are to be commended—and encouraged.

Macy’s is buying baskets. Not just any baskets. These are baskets woven by poor women from renewable materials local to where they live—in Rwanda. The women are being compensated fairly for their work. The money is going directly to them and their communities. There aren’t a lot of middlemen between the artisans and the ultimate buyer [Macy’s] that reap all the profits leaving nothing for the people who are doing the actual work.

The idea is to help people pull themselves out of poverty by buying their products and selling them in the U.S. And the American people, who are becoming increasingly aware that there is a big world out there where most of the people live in conditions we can’t even imagine, want to buy the products they have to sell—if someone will bring them to us. So, Macy’s is doing it.

It’s like recycling.
A few years ago, recycled products cost more to buy than virgin products did. But, we had to BUY the products for recycling to work. If we hadn’t actually bought the recycled products the whole project would have died aborning.

Here’s the next step, folks.
Go to Macy’s this season.
Tell corporate America: ‘You do good—and your profit margins will do well.’
Then, next year, more companies will do the same—
Together, we just might turn this poor old planet and the people on it around.
[You can go here to find them. Such a simple way to be part of the solution.]

2 comments:

Paul G. Eberhart said...

Two Crows,

Thank you so much for the kind words. If means a great deal coming from a mental health professional. For many years my desire was to become a clinical psychologist. I wanted to take my experiences with depression and work with others who were suffering. I still believe today that a person who has experienced depression first hand would make an awesome psychologist. just wasn't in the cards for me but maybe this blog can fill that void for me.

Thanks again,

Paul

http://makeemcount.blogspot.com

two crows said...

hello, Paul--
I hope you won't give up hope of being a therapist. I'm certain you're right when you say a person who has worked through depression can make a difference in the lives of others--because that's exactly how I came to the profession.
you'd be amazed at how many people started out that way.
it's not a guarantee that you'll be a good therapist by having been depressed. but, if you've done the work necessary to move on, you will.

I'll bet you're one who can do it. hang in there.
:)