Zappos Social Recognition Program

When talking about sustainability numerous people associate it with just protecting the environment. Sustainability is far more than going green, but it is a principle that many companies have adopted and have worked persistently to improve over the last several years. Sustainability is defined as the ability to continue a behavior indeterminately, but it also includes improving human life overall. Sustainable development is broken down into three pillars: economic, social, and environmental (Harich & Bangerter, 2014). Economics is the study of how people use resources, which correlates to the goal of sustainable development by using resources to their full potential (Laszlo, C., & Zhexembayeva, N., 2011, p. 60). Economic sustainable development allows companies to give their customers what they want without overusing mutual resources. Social development combines the social world with the physical realm to provide a good quality of life (Benoit, 2010, p. 7). Social sustainability focuses on the well-being of people and their communities. Environmental development, the most recognizable, includes protecting the environment by reducing pollution, recycling, switching of electronic devices when not in use, etc. All three of these pillars make up what is known as sustainable development. In this paper, I researched a company and their involvement in sustainability and how it applies to the

Although there is no formal definition for the term, individuals have tried to define sustainability according to their function or area of study. The term “sustainability,” once an obscure ecological concept, has now been adopted by many in the business world to connote the principles of social and environmental responsibility (Joseph Fiksel, Jonathan Low and Jim Thomas). Further, sustainability can be seen through the eyes of business as a way to create value. More likely than not, the term sustainability can be linked to the ability of decreasing costs, wastes and inefficiencies. According to the vice president of General Electric,

Admittedly, more and more brands and retailers are taking action to respond to the ethical and sustainable issues. From the consumer side, there is an apparent growth of ethical purchase. Kate Spade, as an American luxury fashion brand, undergoes ethical enhancements of its manufacturing process in Africa. However, instead of transforming this approach into a charitable purpose, Kate Spade chooses to retain its high-quality standard and beautiful products to attract customers . This report will first focus on the elements Kate Spade practically supports in Africa, then review the performances of their program, using a comparable retailer’s moral action as a comparison. We will eventually conclude by examining the positive and negative impacts of such a policy for Kate Spade.

Sustainability from a strategic business perspective is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all biological entities, as mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). Business sustainably is often defined as managing the triple bottom line – a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet. (Business sustainability definition from financial times lexicon, no date). This essay will discuss the idea of sustainability being an important element within a businesses and its core strategies and the importance of it within different businesses. Secondly, this study will look at how different stakeholders are affected and influenced by sustainability as this could be seen as a catalyst to improving the environment as a whole and. Then this study will look at how businesses not focusing

Since 2006, Soles4Souls has been working to get the less fortunate shoes. Shoes is a very important thing, a mile walk to the well to get water without shoes could be a back breaking journey but with shoes it seems to be just another one of the days small tasks. Soles4Souls has also teamed up with Macy’s, they both decided on a goal of giving out 50,000 coats in the year of 2013. They did it and since then Soles4Souls and Macy’s has kept their partnership and have gave out a total of around 130,000 coats nationwide (Home-Soles4Souls). Their organization is located in Nashville, Tennessee where they are ranked 40th out of the top 100 highest populated metro areas according to the National Alliance to End

Zumiez Inc. history started off with the owner of the business wanting to do anything he could do to give back to his community. When Zumiez was first created their target market was in action sports retailing, when they really started making more money they started giving back in an even bigger way to 13 charity organizations in Snohomish County, Washington by purchasing jackets, flannels shirts and blankets to give away to those who couldn’t afford it. Up until that point Zumiez was a private company until their launch in the spring of 2005. By the time we hit 2012 Zumiez had already donated over 180,000 items to over 180 organizations in 21 states helping more than 60,000 men, women, and children. Tom’s philosophy of business and life has been there motto since day one. “We help our employees to become successful, which makes the company successful. This in turn allows us to use that success to help others and to develop our employees into community leaders on issues that matter to them”. As Tom always says, “it’s about the leverage- creating it and using it for the benefit of others, and in the process, of ourselves”

Social responsibility as well as social responsible clothing such as Toms, One for One support socially worthy causes that impact the trend of social responsibility. This brand validates social causes and those who lack physical goods and financial donations such as the one for one movement. TOMS shoes come in a variety of styles and color, and promises customers that every pair of shoes they purchase, a pair would go to someone in need. According to Joanne Fritz, “Mycoskie's idea took off to such an extent that TOMS has now expanded into sunglasses, using the same giveback formula, coffee, the purchase of which provides water where it's needed, and TOMS invests in other social entrepreneurial enterprises. in fact, the TOMS giving universe keeps on expanding and now includes nutrition, healthcare, and education.” (Joanne Fritz, 2016)

Kohl’s Cares is the retailer’s corporate giving program that focuses on taking care of and giving back to the community thru a variety of avenues. The Kohl’s organization is a strong advocate for community involvement and volunteerism. They offer their staff a variety of opportunities to service their community to help make a difference. The Kohl’s Volunteer Program was created in 2001 and has donated over $112 million corporate grants. In 2015 alone, the program boast the following accomplishments: 100 percent store participation, over 28,500 community events were organized nationwide, the associates contributed almost 480,000 volunteer hours, and almost $16 million was awarded in corporate grants to more than 7,700 nonprofit

According to Whelan, about 37% companies believe sustainability is a top five priority. Additionally, sustainable companies outperform their peers—citing a reduction in material usage, increased market shares, positive

One point of view says that we should invest in the environment because it will increase our reputation among other things resulting in increased sales. Another point of view is to not invest in sustainability and since consumers gravitate towards the best products and the best prices, which a team could develop, then sustainability is just an unneeded expense. As a team we feel that there should a balance of both investing in sustainable business practices and turning a profit. This strategy can be seen when we turned a $4,600,257 profit in quarter six while investing in seven conscious

The primary target market of TOMS is males and females between the age of 19-24 that want to combine the creativity of being a trend-setter with the satisfaction of being socially responsible. This age range is a part of what is known as Generation Y, or the Millennials. Generation Y has brought a trend of social awareness and activity. From 2002 to 2005 the number of people volunteering went up 25%. This generation is all about giving back to the people, so Toms allows this group to give back by purchasing their shoes. TOMS has also done its homework on this group as well. Utilizing social media, TOMS reaches out to over 488,000 twitter followers, 280,000 Facebook fans, and several thousands of YouTube users. TOMS understands that generation Y prefers hands on involvement. In order to make that happen, TOMS fans are allowed to take part in a yearly One Day Without Shoes movement to understand what it is like to be shoe-less. In addition to the giving back and the social movements, TOMS shoes let young adults be expressive in their style. The plain shoe design makes way for creative minds to manipulate the shoe as anyone may please. TOMS is mainly focused in the U.S., but the shoes are available in over 30 countries globally

Sustainability has become a great topic of interest in many arenas. Particularly, leading organizations are recognizing sustainability needs to be an essential aspect of their long term strategies. With this recognition, better business practices are being sought by investors as well as sustainability is becoming a driving force for better efficiencies and innovation. Two organizations, Wal-Mart and Starbucks, have both took on sustainability as long term initiatives to address their customer needs and affect how their suppliers operate.

Finally, much of Zappos’ philosophy is built around showing customers why they are better off buying shoes online as opposed to in-store. They have comprehensive information about each shoe, as well as eight photos of each product shown from different angles. Because they provide detailed information about each shoe, extensive customer feedback, and discussions about particular issues like gait, Zappos answers any reservations that customers may have about ordering shoes online.

Since 2006, when the TOMS Shoes was founded, their ‘one for one’ business model has been widely embraced or criticized by different companies and the consumers. While, Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Company, was on trip to Argentina in 2006, he witnessed the extreme poverty and poor health conditions. After countersigning children walking barefoot, it dramatically heightened Blake’s awareness. Consequently, after witnessing those events, Mycoskie came up with a simple and innovating plan to create a for-profit business with a philanthropic component. Consequently, Blake created TOMS company with a unique principal and business model referred to ‘One for One’. TOMS ‘One for One’ is a unique business model, where for every pair of shoes purchased TOMS donates a pair of shoes to children in need in developing or underdeveloped countries. The company’s name ‘TOMS’ generated from the word ‘TOMORROW’, which was the original concept of the company, ‘shoes for tomorrow’.

New Balance is the second largest athletic footwear manufacturer in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world. The company has had a strong focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) since its inception 100 years ago, although until recently it has not necessarily been adept at making the public aware of its “doing what’s right” culture (Veleva, 2010).