A few months ago we featured Ark Collective, a buy one give one social enterprise that gives a backpack to a student in need in LA for each one sold. Today we're featuring another backpack company with a social mission, Benson Backpacks.
Benson Backpacks, founded by Matthew Clough, is a new company based in Los Angeles that uses the profits from its denim backpack sales to help fund education in Tanzania. The Benson bags have a simple yet stylish design that is structured with modern technology in mind, with a padded laptop sleeve and side pockets for other gadgets. It's available in three colors: black stonewashed denim, charcoal denim and natural denim.
The company is named after a cheerful and kind porter who helped Matthew when he was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
"He always had a smile on his face and we got to know each other pretty well during our six days together," Matthew says on the site. "He was the first to congratulate me after I reached the summit. As we hiked down, I learned he earns between 1 and 2 dollars a day – not enough to put a child through school."
After returning, he wanted to do something to provide more educational opportunity for those living in Tanzania, Matthew partnered with Knock Foundation to make it happen. $10 from every Benson Backpack now helps Knock Foundation provide tuition, meals and supplies.
Contact Information
Benson Backpacks website
Benson Backpacks on Twitter
Benson Backpacks on Facebook
Schoolbags That Give
Denim 'Benson Backpacks' Help Fund Education in Tanzania
Trend Themes
1. Social Enterprise Backpacks - Socially conscious backpack companies can use profits to enable educational opportunities in developing countries and trigger community-driven innovations.
2. Education-driven Philanthropy - Philanthropic organizations supporting education in developing countries can collaborate with businesses by partnering each sale with a donation to support education.
3. Digitally-suitable Backpacks for Education - Companies can promote the use of modern backpack designs that account for gadgets such as laptops and devices that may be used in developing countries for educational purposes.
Industry Implications
1. Fashion - Socially conscious backpacks that contribute a portion of their sales to support education have the potential to disrupt the traditional fashion industry's profit-centered approach in favor of social good.
2. Education - Backpack companies that contribute a portion of their earnings to education can positively impact the industry and enable more significant breakthroughs in educational approaches and technologies.
3. Philanthropy - Companies that are intentional about supporting philanthropic causes in developing countries can partner with nonprofit organizations to combat education inequality.