the goals
Howard Wilensky and Justin DeTolla are two individuals that want to do good, and at the same time, change the way we perceive business.
Forever.
Both having different professional experiences–most recently focused in on the advertising industry–they quickly realized they had a shared goal, in wanting to get people involved in positive social change.
They established three main areas of focus to:
• Encourage positive change
• Give to organizations serving as a catalyst of change
• Be sustainable
But even though the business model made sense, they still needed the right vehicle to bring them there.
“After a bit of brainstorming we thought, why not shirts?”, said Wilensky, Business Lead and Co-Founder. “We realized that shirts are not only something bought out of necessity, but also express who we are and the values that we stand for.”
“But they couldn’t be the norm. We wanted a shirt that was ethically made–respecting both people and animals–and environmentally friendly.”
“In the process, we also came up with the idea of serving as an information-resource for the consumer. So we decided that instead of being a ‘traditional’ business, we wanted to be involved in a movement, of sorts.”
Howard added, “We wanted to get people talking, and empower them to be aware of issues that affect us all.”
And at that point, Minespire was brought to life.
artists, causes, and shared-profits
“We wanted our shirts to be cause-related, for sure.”, said DeTolla, Creative Lead and Co-Founder.
“But just as importantly, we wanted every Minespire shirt to be a work of art in its own right. It had to be something that someone would want to wear, regardless of whether it was linked to a positive cause or not.”
“We also wanted these shirts to communicate a message that represented causes, but in an artful, non-traditional way.”, DeTolla added. ”We’re lucky to be working with some super-talented artists on our shirt designs, and these are people that believe just as much in the causes we do.”
“Once we had our the basic foundation, we then began reaching out to organizations focusing their energies into environmentalism, human rights, and animal welfare–three areas that we believe need our attention now more than ever.”, states Wilensky. ”Right around that time, Justin and I also decided that we wanted to really empower the consumer, in giving to these organizations. Thats’s where the idea of profit-sharing came to be.”
“It’s structured like this–for every sale that Minespire makes, we give away half of our profits. That’s it, and it’s really that simple.”
“Some people said we were a bit crazy for wanting to give such a large percentage of profits away. But it was something that we felt would really make an impact, and hopefully inspire other businesses to do the same.”, said DeTolla.
the future
Over the last year, Minespire has been in preparation for a Fall 2010 launch of their initial line–which has been keeping them busy, to say the least.
They’re in the final stages of solidifying relationships with three of the world’s largest change-oriented organizations, and have been working hand-in-hand with an incredible team of artists to get the Minespire line to you.
