Q&A with Project 7: A Brand Built to Give Back
By Kaleena Thompson | June 6, 2011 at 5:53 am
Project 7 Team Photo by Project 7
We spoke with Project 7 team member Casey Cheshier about how Project 7 was born, how it works, and how we can get involved.
Project 7 has been around for three years. So those who haven’t heard of Project 7, what is it and what do you do?
Casey Cheshier: It is a cause-driven organization that is literally putting its money where your mouth is. For every Project 7 product purchase of its bio-bottled water, gum, clothing, mints and coffee, there’s a direct contribution to seven areas of global, critical need – Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, Hope for Peace, House the Homeless, Quench the Thirsty, Teach them Well and Save the Earth. Currently, Project 7 products are sold with the sole purpose of inviting consumers to become catalysts for change – not by purchasing more products, but by simply changing what products they already buy.
The idea of selling products to benefit nonprofits is a noble business model. Where did the idea come from and how did it develop?
Casey: In 2008, Tyler Merrick had a moral breakthrough and believed that people inherently want to make a difference and give back to those less fortunate. After college, Merrick honed his business skills at his family’s luxury pet food company, Merrick Pet Care. After building a brand around giving the best to your pets, Merrick thought if we could do that, why couldn’t we create a brand that was built around giving back – an engine that could create an ongoing revenue stream of resources for these seven areas of need he cared about. Merrick created Project 7 products to generate an ongoing revenue stream that can help men, women and children across the globe by tapping into the philosophy that “you buy=we give.”
How does Project 7 work to help fulfill the 7 areas of need?
Casey: For every product purchased, humanitarian aid is given to help change the score on seven areas of global need. Heal the Sick products supply medicine for a person suffering from malaria. Save the Earth products plant 10 fruit trees back into the earth. House the Homeless products provide shelter, food, education and health care for a day for an orphan. Feed the Hungry products give seven meals for American communities. Quench the Thirsty products afford clean water for a person in need for one year. Teach Them Well products provide a week of schooling for a child in Africa. Hope for Peace products support a day of counseling for a child of war.
Where are the products available besides online?
Casey: Our products are sold in 3,000 retailers across the country including Walmart in the Southwest, Caribou Coffee locations in the Northern Midwest, HMS Host locations in airports nationally as well as many individual retailers throughout the country.
What environmental ethos does Project 7 live by?
Casey: We stay green by sourcing the water for the water bottles regionally in the country to keep shipping low. All the bottles are made from a bio-degradable material, not plastic. The T-shirts are made out of organic cotton RPET material. We utilize sustainable products like cork, which is grown and harvested, in our packaging. Sales from our Save the Earth products are proactively green by planting fruit trees back into the earth; and, in fact, those sales have already planted more than 100,000 mango and avocado trees in the first quarter of 2011!
Feeling inspired? First, check out Project 7 products and start to change the way you buy. Then, go to ChangetheScore.com and sign up to volunteer or to start a local 7 day in your community.
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