CREATIVE WOMEN — Founded by one-woman dynamo Ellen Dorsch, Creative Women brings us the exquisite textile craftsmanship of Ethiopia and Swaziland. A company that provides work training and excellent pay to talented women, Creative Women is known for its luxurious mohair and vibrant silk items through its luxury Sabahar line. By pairing fashion-forward Western designs with traditional African craftsmanship, Creative Women merges cultures beautifully.

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DWELLING — Connecticut product development consultant Gloria Delaney was traveling in Kenya where she discovered artisans creating remarkable handcrafted items, such as gorgeous bowls carved from a single piece of sustainably harvested olivewood. She also tapped into a women’s knitting collective to bring huggable handmade plush toys to children in the U.S. Gloria has gone far beyond just providing economic opportunities to artists — she and Dwelling strongly support literacy, health and other programs for the well-being of the workers and their families.

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TRIBAL HOME — This U.S.-based company brings us the work of amazing Zulu Master Weavers from South Africa. Tribal Home’s three founding partners discovered these women in the remote KwaZulu-Natal Province, skilled in the traditional art of weaving watertight Zulu baskets but unable to make a living from it. Tribal Home introduced the baskets to the Western market — where they’ve been selling so successfully that the weavers can now support their families and keep these traditional Zulu crafts alive.

Dr. Yunus is a visionary AND he’s a hands-on practitioner committed to transforming his homeland through outside-the-box thinking, flexibility and effective implementation. Brings to mind a modification of the old Sinatra refrain from New York, New York: “If he can do it there, we can do it everywhere.”

Do what? you might ask. Use business to tackle social problems. Micro-credit is an inspired notion and an effective reality. ElegRoo supports micro-credit through the totally great KIVA.org.

But we at ElegRoo are taking a lead from Dr. Yunus beyond micro-credit. In Creating A World Without Poverty, Dr. Yunus proposes the idea of “social businesses”, that is, businesses organized as for-profit enterprises, but whose sole goals are to achieve some social benefit. All profits are plowed back into the company. Investors receive no dividends, no profits whatever. They can expect to receive back their initial investment and will still own the company and direct its efforts.

A “social business” must compete head-to-head with ordinary for-profits by dint of the value of its products and/or services.

LuAnne Speeter reports that “[65%] of consumers believe businesses are responsible for having a greater social purpose beyond profit … that businesses have a shared responsibility to address and solve today’s social and environmental issues through a blending of social initiatives and business operations.”

But other attempts at formalizing business commitments to social issues, like B Corporations, are hybrids that attempt to serve two masters — social benefit and investor profit. Dr. Yunus predicts that, at some point, each of these hybrids will face a choice, and that investor profits will prevail. No such Hobson’s Choice can afflict a “social business” — investor profit motive is simply not present to diverge from the social benefit motive.

100% of the ownership of Elegant Roots agrees with these notions and believes also that the vision and mission for Elegant Roots [to promote social justice and eco-consciousness by providing a market for goods that further these goals] fits squarely within the notion of “social business” propounded by the good Dr. Yunus.

100% percent of the ownership has directed that ElegRoo management begin the process of formally converting Elegant Roots into a “social business.” Watch this blog for the ANNOUNCEMENT when the conversion is complete.

For 2010, the host is Rwanda and the theme is “Many Species. One Planet. One Future”, celebrating the thrilling diversity of life on Earth as part of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.

Around the globe people will hold all sorts of activities to recognize the day — while people of the US Gulf Coast regions fight the massive petroleum spew from BP’s mile-deep sea-bed well; while animals are tarred with the inescapable goo-tide; and wetlands are turned to sludge.

On this day, we can celebrate a traditional human interaction with the natural world that creates a thing of beauty and function — without any petroleum, no plastic, no chemical processing.

The Zulu are one of only two peoples on the earth who create water-tight baskets. (The other are natives of Central America.) Zulu weavers use only grasses native to their KwaZulu-Natal homeland and local ilala palm, dyed using only natural, locally-derived vegetable dyes.

This weaving is traditional with the Zulu people, though was once a male-oriented skill. Different shaped baskets are designed for local beer, others for seeds, grains, greens, all purposes imaginable. But then the men were taken to work the mines and imported tin vessels replaced the baskets — the art nearly died out. In the early 70s, a missionary organized weaving classes after Sunday services and enlisted four female master weavers to teach at what became known as the Vukani workshops (named for the missionary).

Traditional skills were passed along; new designs and colors were created; an art form was saved that sustainably uses a few of the great diversity of earth’s species. Over the decades since, many weavers have reached Master-level status, had their work displayed in museums around the world and create astounding works of beauty.

Of the original four teachers at the Vukani workshops, one remains — and she still weaves. That living treasure of Zulu basketry is Laurentia Dlamini.

On World Environment Day, let’s celebrate the diversity of species on our earth — and the diversity of people and their creations without petroleum.

Facebook does not have access to any information provided during an Elegant Roots’ customer’s session in Elegant Roots’ Facebook Shop.

The Elegant Roots Facebook Shop was created by and is powered by Milyon*i. During checkout, our customer’s connection is encrypted, so Facebook cannot possibly see any part of the Checkout process or the information provided during Checkout. Even if Facebook was being more devious than claimed, we can say without reservation: Facebook does not have access to the financial or identity information provided during Elegant Roots Checkout. For technical detail, check out the Milyon*i blog.

Their quick answer is “rest assured you are secure.” When you have finished selecting products and start to check out, the pages are secured. Each step in the Elegant Roots Facebook Shop (#1 – Billing and Shipping Information, #2 – Shipping Method, #3 – Transaction, #4 Completion and Registration) is protected with up to 256-bit Secure Socket Layer encryption. FACEBOOK CAN’T ACCESS IT!

Bottom line — whatever the validity of privacy concerns re Facebook — they don’t apply to a transaction on the Elegant Roots Facebook Shop.

More on Elegant Roots’ Privacy commitments and procedures.

Social justice has become a controversial notion. Glenn Beck instructs his viewers to run from churches that call for social justice. He also warns of other telltale phrases: “shared community”, and “collective responsibility” — all totalitarian tells, according to Mr. Beck.

And that’s the subject of today’s Is It Just Me . . .?

Is it just me, or is Mr. Beck pushing a pernicious new political correctness movement — trying to rid our society of the notions of social justice, community, and the common good?

Glenn Beck’s neo-political correctness would stigmatize as Nazis and communist totalitarians anyone who uses “social justice”, “shared community” and the like to describe a vision.

If we’re going to throw out “social justice” and “shared community”, we’d have to eliminate “common good” — it screams of communism under Mr. Beck’s “reasoning”.

And we’d have to eliminate “common goals”. No more “common decency”. No more common sense.

But let’s not eliminate any words simply because of their fraudulent use by Nazis or anyone. Their Big Lie about “social justice” can’t change the true and positive meaning of the term. Just like the fraudulent use of “fair and balanced” can’t change its real meaning.

ElegantRoots.com continues to promote social justice by offering wonderful gift items on a fair trade basis. We’ll continue to say it. And we’ll continue to resist this new, pernicious political correctness.

That’s it for today’s Is It Just Me…? from Elegant Roots. (check our new shop on Facebook/ElegantRoots)

Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, has all the elements of a great story — colorful, larger-than-life characters, adventure, joy, heartbreak, courage, heroism, lurking danger, the wisdom of indigenous peoples, the warmth of rural Mexicans, the openness of Americans, all in an other-worldly landscape and wrapped in a quest worthy of any mythology. Nearly every chapter is a cliff-hanger.

And — it’s NON-FICTION!

The locale of much of the story — the inaccessible Copper Canyon region of Mexico’s Sierra Madre — is home to the Tarahumara people as well as Mestizo farmers. This is the region of the town of Norogachi — the little town where the exquisite jewelry of Julio Pagliani is made — by the same people who populate the great story in Born to Run.

From Born to Run: “The Barrancas are a lost world in the most remote wilderness in North America, a sort of a shorebound Bermuda Triangle known for swallowing misfits and desperadoes who stray inside. Lots of bad things can happen down there, and probably will; survive man-eating jaguars, deadly snakes, and blistering heat, and you’ve still got to deal with ‘canyon fever,’ a potentially fatal freak-out brought on by the Barrancas desolate eeriness. The deeper you penetrate into the Barrancas, the more it feels like a crypt sliding shut around you. The walls tighten, shadows spread, phantom echoes whisper; every route out seems to end in sheer rock. … Little surprise that few strangers have ever seen the Tarahumara homeland–let alone the Tarahumara.”

But into the Barrancas is where the good people of Julio Pagliani go in order to help the people of the Barrancas utilize their traditional beading techniques to create striking jewelry for the outside world and bring it out to support the traditional lifestyles of these remote peoples. This, too, is courageous in its own way — courage in support of social justice.

And, into the Barrancas go Christopher McDougall’s cast of thoroughly engaging characters.

I highly recommend Born to Run; and I highly recommend that you support the peoples of the Barrancas in their traditional arts. Enjoy their beautiful jewelry, designed by the folks at Julio Pagliani and rendered exquisitely by the peoples of the Barrancas using — and preserving — traditional skills. Learn more about Julio Pagliani here.

We’ve taken another step toward becoming that premier eco-gallery by being the first in the U.S. to offer C5 company’s Avenue Green Collection from designer Meghan Connolly Haupt. Avenue Green is 100% recycled sterling silver and is C5’s FIRST ready-to-wear line inspired by the blending of sleek urban lines with the irrepressible shapes of nature.

C5 has always used only recycled precious metals and ethically sourced gems and has made it’s name in the most exclusive end of the jewelry sector — commission-only, custom pieces of fine jewelry designed in collaboration with the person commissioning the piece.

C5 has brought the same exacting standards and attention to detail to this first ready-to-wear line. Check it out along with our other fantastic assortment.

Avenue Green is the FIRST ready-to-wear jewelry collection from C5 company, known for its exclusive, by-commission-only, custom-designed fine jewelry — and exclusively using recycled precious metals and ethically sourced gems.

And, Elegant Roots is the FIRST in the U.S. to offer C5 company’s Avenue Green, a collection in 100% recycled sterling silver from C5’s designer, Meghan Connolly Haupt.

Avenue Green is a compelling line inspired by the South Bronx — multi-cultural urban living against the backdrop of the incredible natural beauty of the Bronx Botanical Gardens and the Bronx Zoo. Haupt has perfectly rendered the urban-natural counterpoint with sleek lines within nature’s most profound shapes.

Join us in welcoming C5 company to Elegant Root’s fine list of designers and artisans working with an eye on the environment and social justice.

I like the idea — transparency and making informed decisions are high on my list of virtues. That’s what ElegantRoots.com is all about for eco and fair trade gifts. Elegant Roots tells you what you need to make an informed decision about a meaningful gift.

Menu disclosure has already been going on by local rule in some places. I’ve been to a few. At a California Pizza Kitchen I was shocked some of the salads were over 2000 calories while some of the personal pizzas were under 1000. Info is power but I had two reactions: immediate — I finally settled on a selection that I otherwise would have passed over; and longer-term, I’m not so anxious to go out to dinner having now learned that immense calorie counts can seemingly be hidden anywhere.

What will the consequences be, intended and unintended, of this new rule? The restaurants with 20 or more locations will probably begin offering selections that are not absurd — like those 2000 calorie salads might give way to something more reasonable. A few restaurants will tout the “I-don’t-give-a-damn” reaction. But will business be affected overall?

What about the one or two-location restaurants? LOHAS consumers are perhaps more interested in the ingredients than the calorie count. But judging by the number of diet plans, books, and schemes, there are an enormous number of people weight-watching at any given moment. Will a weight-watching restaurant-goer opt for the chain when otherwise they might have visited an individual restaurant? Subway seems to have a lot of success with their Jason dieter’s sandwiches.

Will this rule drive out non-chain eateries? Some may adopt the menu disclosures voluntarily, but that’s not feasible for the great majority?

Let’s hope consumers will use the info to make healthful selections and that restaurants will evolve to offer more and more appealing healthful selections. I’m happy to have the info but I sense unintended consequences lurking.

Motivation 3.0 covers what intrinsically motivates us where there are no external rewards, no concrete personal “carrots.” For example, people spend much time and effort on Wikipedia; or people stop to help a stranger; or someone who spends hours practicing violin with no interest in a professional career.

Ironically, when someone does something for its intrinsic motivation — say, for interest or fun — the application of an extrinsic reward can often ruin it, “transform[ing] an interesting task into a drudge. [Extrinisic rewards] can turn play into work. And by diminishing intrinsic motivation, they can send performance, creativity, and even upstanding behavior toppling like dominoes.”

With Drive in mind, I read about Whole Foods’ new Team Member Healthy Discount Incentive Program as reported by Jezebel.com. This program offers employee discounts beyond the normal 20% for non-smoking employees who opt-in and demonstrate qualifying
cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and body weight as measured by BMI.

Applying extrinsic rewards and punishments (like a discount) to what is otherwise intrinsically motivated (like healthy lifestyle pursuit) — that’s a motivation killer. Maybe that’ll be no problem for those who already score at a 30% discount, but for those who have been struggling with weight, this program is a motivation killer.

What were they thinking?

But perhaps John Mackey and the other execs at Whole Foods did consider the studies of Motivation 3.0 in designing this program. Maybe this program is NOT intended to motivate weight loss, etc.; perhaps it’s intended to accomplish something else entirely. Warning: Whole Foods employees beware.

The incentive discounts slide on a scale, greater for those with better scores. The scale begins with a 22% discount for someone whose blood pressure is less than 140/90, cholesterol below 195 or LDL below 110, and whose BMI is below 30. The scale tops out at a 30% discount offered to one whose blood pressure is below 110/70, cholesterol is below 150 or LDL below 80, AND whose BMI is below 24.

If your BMI is 30 or above, you still get your regular 20% discount, which means the 30-somethings will get paid less than their thinner co-workers. “Because (as Jezebel.com brilliantly observes) if public health research has taught us anything, it’s that reducing people’s buying power totally makes them healthier. Stay classy, Whole Foods.”

But, you say, Whole Foods is spending lots of money to motivate weight loss, and cholesterol lowering, etc. Maybe not so much. The program’s rules state that one’s discount is dictated by where one’s weakest score falls on the program chart. For example, you can have a BMI below 24 (30% discount level) and blood pressure below 110/70 (30% level), but if your cholesterol is say 180, your discount is limited to 25%. The 30% discount level for cholesterol is below 150.

I’m sure there are some few people out there who have genes that allow a below-150 cholesterol score without drugs, but I’ve never met one. For most, genetics precludes a 30% discount without the taking of a prescription drug — every day. Thus, very few will ever qualify for the 30% or even the 27% discounts.

This genetic roadblock seems unfair — and a sense of unfairness is a force-multiplier for external rewards/punishments destroying intrinsic motivation.

Encouraging widespread use of prescriptions also seems contrary to Mr. Mackey’s stated purpose for the program — to lower Whole Foods’ employee health care costs.

If the program seems ill-designed for its stated purpose, what other (unstated) purpose might it be serving?

To what other uses can Whole Foods put this private health information? Well, what would stop Whole Foods from creating a regular compensation structure based on weight and cholesterol? A discount is clearly a form of compensation — and this one based on weight.

What would stop Whole Foods from using this info in deciding who to promote? The union would stop that, right? Wait … never mind. (Mackey reportedly said having unions is like having herpes.)

If Whole Foods were able to demonstrate that lower weight, cholesterol and blood pressure could lower health insurance costs for the company, could it use the data to design a hiring practice based on weight, cholesterol and blood pressure? But where would he get the data to support such a claim?

I’ll try not to be paranoid, but this looks like a slippery slope to me. And if John Mackey’s political philosophy has taught us anything, it’s that we must rely upon ourselves in this world. Anything else smacks of socialism.

So, what limits does the program place on Whole Foods’ use of the personal health information? Well, while the program poster announces that “the privacy of your personal health information is important to us”, the poster makes no actual promise of privacy, confidentiality, or limitations on use of the data. One must apparently look to the fine print of the program materials to discover what, if any, limits there may be on Whole Foods’ use of the information.

Since very few people will ever qualify for the 27% or 30% discount, Mr. Mackey may have come up with a very cheap way (a 2 to 5% discount) to get employees to voluntarily disclose highly private data.

Since the program violates motivation theory and is highly unlikely to work to lower employees weight, etc., let me ask again —

What were they thinking?

Later,
Rob Favole