Coca-Cola: Empowering women entrepreneurs

Each one-of-a-kind, handmade item in Coca-Cola’s 5by20 artisan collection is

created by a female artisan using her creativity and resourcefulness to turn
packaging (sometimes discarded as waste) into beauty. According to the
Company It’s better than guilt-free shopping; it’s do-good shopping.

Artisans represent an important segment of the Coca-Cola value chain and its
5by20 women’s economic empowerment initiative. Their creativity and
resourcefulness turn used beverage packaging such as pull tabs aluminum cans,
glass bottles, PET and even outdated Coca-Cola labels, into beautiful items such
as jewelry, handbags, notebooks, iPad covers and more.

These incredible women are part of The Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 initiative,
which aims to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million women
entrepreneurs by 2020. As 5by20 participants, artisans receive design and
business skills training, access to market and sometimes the materials they need
to support their trade. Your purchase provides income to the women artisans
who handmade the beautiful items (Coca-Cola stories, 2016)
 Soda Can Bottle Cap Ring-pull
Reindeer Change Purse Bracelet (Price-
(Price-$33) (Price-$40) $14)

Warby Parker: This eye glass company has launched a “Buy a Pair,
Give a Pair” program where for each purchase made, glasses are given
to someone in need. One billion people that need eye glasses do not
have them. Warby Parker has already made a difference by donating
over 150,000 pairs by working with nonprofit partners. In addition to
this initiative, the company tracks all of their greenhouse gas
emissions and then offsets them. These two major, sustainability
efforts by Warby Parker make them a rising star amongst sustainable
brands (WP, 2016)

Soft Toys for Education Campaign (2003 – 2015)

Since 2003 IKEA's Soft Toys for Education campaign has helped over 11
million children in some of the poorest countries in the world. Its mission
is to raise money supporting quality education opportunities for the most
vulnerable children in developing countries. During the campaign, IKEA
donated amount to Save the Children, Handicap International, Room to
Read, War Child, Special Olympicsand UNICEF for every soft toy or
children's book purchased.IKEA Foundation will donate $1 supporting
children's right to play and develop (IKEA, 2016).

Tesco sets up charity to drive new brand

Tesco has set up a not-for-profit organisation to raise money for women’s

health charities to be funded by sales of its new feminine care range Halo.

The supermarket has pledged to donate 15p from every sale of Halo branded
feminine hygiene products to a recently set up Halo Initiative charity and claims
the product range is a “feminine care range with a difference”.

Women in the UK spend more than £20m on feminine care products each
month.

The Halo Initiative, recently set up by Tesco and registered to its head office
address, will distribute the money raised to a range of charities working
towards the advancement of physical, mental and social wellbeing and the relief
of illness amongst all women, specifically ovarian and gynaecological cancers,
mental health, domestic violence and teenage pregnancies (Tesco, 2016)
Empowering Sustainable Communities in Gaza: Clean Water Access and Youth
Employment

Communities in Gaza face countless development challenges, for ensuring

sustainable access to clean drinking water and increasing the availability of jobs
for Gaza's large youth population, especially young women, The Coca-
Cola Foundation, National Beverage Company (NBC) and Mercy Corps today
announced a new $1.3 million charitable initiative to help tackle these areas.
The Empowering Sustainable Communities in Gaza aims to reach 30,000 Gazans
over the next three years. Efforts will focus on two flagship programs that will
bring fresh water to families in a refugee camp, and help unemployed male and
female youth engage in Gaza’s growing information and communications
technology (ICT) sector through online freelancing opportunities (Coca-Cola
Stories, 2016)
REFERENCES:

1. Coca-Cola Stories, Gaza Communities, 2016, Digital webpage, accessed

2016,http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/empowering-
sustainable-communities-in-gaza
2. Coca-Cola Stories, Women empowerment, 2016, Digital webpage, accessed 2016,
<http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/holiday-gifts-that-give-back-shop-the-
coca-cola-5by20-artisan-catalog>
3. IKEA, Save the Children, 2016, digital webpage, accessed 2016,
<http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9334367/k.6524/IKEA_Good_
Cause_Campaigns.htm>
4. Tesco CSR, 2016, webpage, accessed 2016,
<https://www.marketingweek.com/2012/02/20/tesco-sets-up-charity-to-drive-new-
brand/>
5. Warby Parker,Buy Pair-Give Pair, 2016, webpage, accessed 2016,
<http://braveoneagency.com/top-5-innovative-csr-initiatives/>