Stitching For Change
Ally Ehrlich
Clackamas High School
Kirby Economics 1.2
January 13th, 2014
Table of Contents
1. Introducing Stitching for Change
2. Why we need Stitching for
Change
3. Type of business/means of
production
4. Target market/competition
5. Marketing
6. Price/goals
Introduction
Stitching for Change is an organization that provides its
customers with a reusable burlap grocery bag. This durable
bags first purpose is to help our environment by reducing the
waste (from discarded plastic bags) that pollutes the United
States. Consumers will love the durability of this bag, the
price, and the fact that they are helping!
But that’s not all…!
Stitching for Change helps more than the good old U. S. of A! This organization is
partially non profit and donates 15 percent of all proceeds towards countries
highly affected by poverty.
A few of the top ten countries affected (that we are looking to help!) include:
● Democratic Republic of the Congo
● Zimbabwe
● Liberia
● Central African Republic
● Madagascar
● Afghanistan
Each year Stitching for Change will choose a new country to focus on helping. The
chosen country will be featured on the Stitching for Change website where buyers
can see information about the country such as:
● Location
● Population
● Culture
● Societal issues/reasons for poverty
● FAQ about country
● Where customers money will be going/how it will be used
Why do we Need Stitching for
Change?
● Worldwide we use over one trillion plastic bags
annually
● There were 3.5 million tons of plastic bags
discarded in 2008 (plastic bags individually
weigh out to about .24 oz)
● 10 percent of plastic bags made every year will
end up in the ocean
● It can take up to 1,000 YEARS for a plastic bag to degrade
Our reckless use of plastic bags has to be stopped!
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Over 20,000 children die each day due to poverty related causes
Every ⅔ people lack access to clean water
Many people in impoverished countries live on only 2$ per day
Over 27 percent of children in all developing countries are estimated to be
underweight
Stitching for change will provide education, food, water, sanitization, jobs, hope,
and more to impoverished countries that are not in a position to help themselves.
Stitching for Change produces burlap grocery/shopping bags that can hold up to
60 pounds! (That’s over 25 cartons of large eggs-although, we wouldn’t
recommend putting them all in one basket).
Customers will love the convenience of this product and they will feel as if their
money will be going to a good cause!
Type of Business
I will be beginning the operations of a corporation.
This business is best fit as a corporation due to its large range of responsibilities,
production, and charitable responsibilities that will need to be carried out
worldwide.
Not only are we supplying our bags to the United States, we are also providing
relief to countries in need; many of our targeted locations are in Africa. As a
corporation it will be easiest to communicate with foreign countries, as well as
relief programs to quickly and effectively spread our help.
Means of Production
In order to expand our potential to help the United States, Stitching for Change’s
products will be U.S. manufactured.
A majority of the production will take place in Nevada, this location also allows for
growth potential if necessary.
The main headquarters will be located in Portland, Oregon. As well as the
communications team, marketing team, and the research team.
Target Market
Our target audience is based on who is buying the
groceries/doing the shopping.
In 2011 an online survey revealed that just under 64
percent of households reported that the mothers
were doing a majority of the grocery shopping.
Due to the overwhelmingly large number of mothers
shopping, we chose to target women ages 35-60.
As this product is not gender based, the idea of a
functional grocery bag that gives to those in need will appeal to men of a similar
age range as well.
Competition
Grocery stores have already started to recognize the environmental issues and
have taken a recent interest in reusable bags for the past few years.
Stores such as Safeway, Trader Joes, Walmart, Sprouts, and Fred Meyer sell
reusable bags at the checkstand. However, these reusable bags are made from a
frail recycled material that is not as durable as Stitching for Change’s burlap
shopping bags.
In addition, the average reusable bag on the market today holds 25-35 pounds,
that’s less than half of what ours will carry!
Our unique charitable company will become a trusted household name due to our
bags durability and our means of donation and giving back to not only the U.S, but
the entire world!
Marketing
Stitching for Change will appeal to the emotional side of Americans that makes
them want to give and give and give.
Many Americans are unaware of the upsetting conditions many people in
impoverished countries have to live in around the world. Making americans aware
of the harsh conditions others face will make them want to make a change! This
same idea goes for helping the environment.
In order to market this our company will be relying on visuals such as signs,
billboards, and TV advertisements (as opposed to marketing methods such as
radio). On such visuals we plan on using shocking images such as pictures of our
targeted locations we plan on helping or pictures of our environment that are
worrying-landfills, polluted oceans.
We have seen success in businesses that give back in companies such as:
● TOMS
● Serengetee
● Goodwill
In addition, old fashioned word of mouth is always good for business! We plan on
not only relying on our customers to spread the word, but to use social media like
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to let people know about us and what we are
doing to help!
Price
While most reusable bags in the United states are sold
for 3-4 dollars, we sell each individual bag for 8.99.
It costs us 1.60 to produce each Stitching for Change
bag. We also take out 15 percent of our profits in
order to give back to countries in need.
Therefore we take in about 6.30$ per bag that we sell.
In the past two year’s we have sold 45,000 units with a steady increase of about
10 percent in sales every month. Therefore we have taken in 283,400$ and given
back 48,600 to countries in need. We believe that the more we provide
Americans with information and awareness the more our business with profit.
Our projected sales for next year exceed 500,000, however we are expecting to
make up to 750,000 due to an increase in marketing abilities and customer
awareness.