At Madn77, we think it is very important that as a company you have a positive contribution to the world. This is also one of the reasons why I started my own business 3 years ago. I felt the world was taking a negative turn, and I wanted to bring it some positivity. Being honest, and transparent about this, is one of the key elements.
As a small company however, it is not easy to be fully sustainable. The cost is very high to buy sustainable material, and to follow the exact trail, is challenging, however, we do our best.
Within Madn77 we regularly have discussions about how to deal with transparency in the most appropriate way.
Naina (The founder of Madn77) is all about honesty and transparency, but her intern, Walter, is at some points extreme in this. For example, he believes in complete transparency in every area. So also how exactly the selling price is established, and how much profit/loss is made. He also believes that a company can challenge (bigger) brands in the way they market themselves, should the information be misleading. His belief is that we should all be transparent in how we work and not mislead our customers through marketing tricks.
I believe that until you start a business and fully understand the ins and outs, it is easy to have opinions. I am naturally transparent, in the sense that I buy organic, I don’t trick my customers, I buy sustainable products whenever I can (and afford), and I always believe in giving back. I don't feel the need to always show this image, as in my opinion, this should be the norm for everyone. How other companies show themselves, tricky, or sneaky or whatever you want to name it, is not correct, but if a consumer is buying it, who am I to judge?
I think we should all work towards sustainability and be naturally transparent. I think it should be the norm, and I also think that the government has a big role in controlling the pricing for sustainable and organic goods, and making it cheaper. If organic products, and sustainable products weren’t so expensive to buy in, more companies could afford to do this.
What are your thoughts about this?