I was in Starbucks this evening buying an new French Press, and as I was standing at the check out I noticed a nice looking bottle of water labeled “Ethos Water”. Curious, I picked up the bottle to read what it was about.
The Ethos Water mission: to help children around the world get clean water. For every bottle that Ethos sells, Starbucks donates 10 cents toward solving the world water crisis, with the goal of donating $10 million by 2010
Thinking this was a nice iniciative I asked the barista how much the bottle was.
$2.50 for a 500ml bottle.
I couldn’t beleive it. And why the high price?
The barrista tells me because 5 percent is going to this charity.
How foolish do these companies think people are?
They are taking a product that they get out of a tap (It’s made by Pepsi so it’s just re branded Aquafina tap water), charging over $1 premium in the name of charity, and they pocketing the full profit of the market price, plus 90 cents of the premium “in the name of charity”.
The founder might have had a good idea but something was lost along the way.
Lets not leave this without some lessons.
Be a thinker:
It is always good to give a person or company the benefit of the doubt, but that doesn’t mean to walk around with our minds turned off. If you want to support any cause and you suddenly see a product being sold that claims to be on as mission for that cause, think it through.
In the case of the water fund.
If you found an organization that gives 100% of donated money to the cause then it might be better to make a donation for $5 directly.
To donate that same $5 through ethos water, you would have to buy 50 bottles of water at a $1 premium. So in essence it would cost you $45 more to give $5 through ethos.
Tithing is powerful. Do it right:
People are moved by charitable acts, because deep down they realize the power of giving.
When you give a portion of what you earn, it connects you to the rest of the world.
The oft recommended amount is 10%. It is rare to find a successful person with a stong ethical and moral compass that doesn’t tithe. They realize that the key to a successful and meaning full life is through giving.
Whatever you give make sure it is a true giving. If you are in a business don’t say you are going to give a portion of your profits and then double your price so you can capitalize on the deception.
The rant is over.
If you know of some worthy world organization that give 100% to charity feel free to post them here.
Make the weekend great.
P.S. I found a link to a page that expresses the message far better than my post http://www.ethos-water.com/
If you click on any of the links it takes you to the Ethos Water Site.
