As America heads towards a change it can believe in, real issues effecting real people become more important than ever. To see what’s on the minds of young Americans all across the ‘flyover states’, Current put Lauren Cerre on a bus from Los Angeles to New York, and created The Great American Detour.
The result is a collection of the actual issues that will determine the future of America, told in a voice that is very different from the pundits and the polls that dominate most on-air time screen time:
Project 7 is ambitious: They want to heal the sick, save the Earth, house the homeless, feed the hungry, help those in need, build the future, and hope for peace.
The idea actually came out of the seven deadly sins. The thought was that “What if man in his selfishness instead of focusing on abstaining from the 7 sins worked to help those that were a consequence of one of these 7?”
For example: What if a “glutton” stopped focusing on himself, and started focusing on helping those that were starving.
The company’s goal is to bring to market everyday products— the first of which is bottled water—that consumers can easily purchase in order to effect change across the seven areas of critical need.
The goal is to make it an easy change for consumers, as the products look and taste the same as their non-Project-7 counterparts, but more than 50 percent of the profits go towards a community piggy-bank.
Throughout the year, nonprofits that benefit on of the seven causes can apply to be the recipient of that piggy-bank, and Project 7 will select three finalists for each. Then, they invite the consumers to vote online for the organization within each area that will receive the proceeds collected throughout the year.
To help get things started, Project 7 has even committed to donating $15,000 to nonprofits supporting each of the seven areas of critical need, totaling a minimum donation of $105,000 in 2009.
Project 7 uses Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles that are 100 percent recyclable, and will even package those bottles in boxes made from 100 percent recyclable material and printed with soy inks.
Is this the future of consumer-based activism?
Time will tell, but it sure looks like it’s off to a good start!
After promising to blow up one of their restaurants to symbolize their commitment to change, they “accidentally” blew up a neighboring restaurant while broadcasting the whole thing live on the internet.
In addition, they’ve issued an apology letter on their site to the restaurant that they blew up:
Thankfully, plenty of people happened to be there with camera in hand, and YouTube is now filled with commercial sized snippets of first person viewpoints; all appropriately tagged, described and titled to lend that extra bit of authenticity to the whole thing.
Don’t think you can hide from me though Ruby Tuesday, because I can see right through your shenanigans.
If you liked the idea behind Designgive’s Cause For Design, then check out GOOD Magazine’s list of additional t-shirt companies that help to make a difference.
Plus, having a t-shirt that is also a tool for change is definitely something that white people like.
