Trade As One

Laura Piper is one of our summer interns, helping Trade as One out with project management, graphic design and marketing.

When people typically think of organizations doing “good,” what most often comes to mind are charities, churches, non-profits, and philanthropists. In conversations with friends and family recently, I’ve been amazed by how hard it is for us to break out of this idea that if you want to do good and make a difference in the world, you need to work for a non-profit. And if you want to be successful and make money, you should work for a for-profit business. It’s almost as if we’ve made some a simple formula out of it:

Non-profits = Do good and impart change.
For-profits = Simply make a profit.

But in my mind, these things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. While I have no doubt that non-profits and churches are doing immense amounts of good in the world, and I am so thankful for all that they do, I am continually inspired by companies that are breaking this separation and seeking to not only make a profit, but to do “good” at the very same time.

This idea is exactly what drew me to the mission behind Trade as One: “To use sustainable business to break cycles of poverty and dependency in the developing world.” And it is also what got me excited about interning with them this summer (…along with the hope of keeping busy and making a difference with my time, while I search for a full-time job).

I’m about six weeks into my internship and there is no doubt that the experience has been a great one! Not only am I learning about the direct impact of our purchases on those living in the developing world, but I’m excited to be part of some of the numerous projects in the works at Trade as One, each with the goal of helping to tell the stories of lives being changed and hope being restored through your simple and ongoing decisions to purchase fair trade.