This was something we had been procrastinated for a while, but we finally got around to it. We’ve moved our blog from wordpress.com to our self-hosting site. This will make sharing our thoughts with you easier. You can check it here:
agoodblog.designedbygoodpeople.com
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See you all soon in our new home!
Caring should never be out of fashion, a lovely response from the Flour Mills, this shows that design can help people in their times of need and eliminate waste.
As the recycling trend looked like it was going to stay, the manufacturers began to print their cloth bags – or feedsacks – in an ever wider variety of patterns and colors.
Over time, the popularity of the feedsack as clothing fabric increased beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, fueled by both ingenuity and scarcity.View original post 261 more words
It’s taken us a bit longer than anticipated, but our 50/50 Project is now up and running. We’ve produced a series of poster and prints. Half of the profits will go to The Passage, to help them end homelessness.
If you want to check what we’ve done please feel free to check our Etsy shop:
We love this quote, so much that despite the fact that our Kickstarter campaign wasn’t successful we’re still going ahead with our 50/50 project… with a few changes.
We’ve scaled down production, and have a new addition to the ‘Home Sweet Home’ family. A laser engraved poster that includes these quotes:
These are manufactured in the UK using sustainably sourced plywood (of course!)
Also, here is a little teaser of the card engraved version that will be available soon:
We also have some A6 (ish) hand prints available too. They’re hand printed on 100% recycled card:
We think they’ll make great Christmas presents. 50% of the profits will go to The Passage, to help them end homelessness.
Last year The Passage housed 125 people through their accommodation projects alone, that’s 125 people that don’t have to call the streets home anymore. If you want to help us increase that number, please visit our Fifty50 Etsy Shop:
Living up to this isn’t easy. We thought we would share what we have learnt and what we do to be as ethical and eco friendly as possible as a company (and people).
Energy is a big part of our carbon footprint. So we wanted to to make it as small as possible. We chose the supplier with the lowest co2 per kwh in the UK. They invest their profits back into the British green economy (thank you Ecotricity).
The internet uses a huge amount of energy. So we found a company that powers it’s servers with 100% renewable energy (thank you Kualo).
Company waste can be a huge problem, so alongside the usual recycling of paper etc, we found a supplier that strips old computer equipment or finds new uses for it (thank you Eco Computers).
Being good doesn’t stop at the office. We try it limit chemicals as much as possible. We do all our laundry with eco friendly soap nuts (thank you Living Naturally).
Most Christmas cards end up getting thrown away after the festive period has ended. We believe that this is the time of year for sharing and goods deeds, so we thank everyone who has supported us with a Christmas story that supports a good cause instead of sending out next years waste. You can find out more about this here.
Obviously, the nature of design means that you have to create print, but this also means that you should try to reduce it’s impact. We found a printer who have fantastic customer service and quality without costing the earth (thank you Kopycat).
We work with a lot of small, exciting businesses. But all businesses need investment in time, expertise and money. We wanted to so something that enabled us to use money invested in our services, passion and craft in others. We thought microloans was a good way forward. So far we have helped 71 people, investing $4600 (Thank you Kiva).
What do you do to be ‘good people’?
HANDCRAFTED POSTERS & PRINTS SHARING 50% OF THE PROFITS WITH CHARITY THE PASSAGE, TO HELP THEM END HOMELESSNESS.
Why are we doing this?
Almost 8 years ago (before we started Designed By Good People), Lee and I were getting married just a few days before Christmas. During the wedding service we were told a good marriage should be 50/50, equally sharing responsibilities, chores and laughter, making sure we were equals in the relationship. We liked this. And this has been the inspiration for this project. “Shall we _____ 50/50?” is an expression that we use almost on a daily basis.
We believe that design can make a difference, but all too often is used to justify mindless consumerism. As a society, we often buy shinny new things that make us feel good for a while, but soon become something we ignore. We believe that design can work differently, wouldn’t it be nice to buy something that makes you feel good every time you looked at it?
Through Kicktstarter, we’ve launched our first 50/50 project, the idea is to design crafted products with a message and half of the profits will go to a good cause. After contacting a number of charities, we established a partnership with The Passage, half of the profits from our first 50/50 project will go to them.
Last year The Passage housed 125 people through their accommodation projects alone, that’s 125 people that don’t have to call the streets home anymore. That’s why we’re producing a limited edition of 125 posters at £125 each (unframed). They’re also available framed (at an extra cost).
We’ll also have hand printed postcards at £15 each (unframed), these are not a limited edition and will print as many as requested. They’re also available framed (at an extra cost).
Our 50/50 project is now up running. We scaled down production, and have a new addition to the ‘Home Sweet Home’ family.
Last year The Passage housed 125 people through their accommodation projects alone, that’s 125 people that don’t have to call the streets home anymore. If you want to help us increase that number, please visit our Fifty50 Etsy shop, where you can find:
When I was growing up, we always took our own bags to the supermarket. As usual, as our lives became busier, convenience ruled over common sense. We bought ready made foods, and our health suffered. We stopped taking bags to the supermarket and the environment suffered.
Bags are now 5p.
8.5 billion single-use plastic bags were taken home by UK shoppers last year – 7.64 billion of those in England. Plastic bags can take 1,000 years to decompose, costing an estimated £10 million a year to clean up in England alone.
As a designer you are never off duty. Often things catch your eye which may solve a problem, you just find beautiful, or are possible solutions to problems you haven’t been challenged by yet (anyone got any ethical candy floss they want packaging for?).
We thought we would share some of these things with you from time to time because good people share. Continue reading
We met Simon at London Bridge after he contacted us to find out what he was doing and why he was doing it. He had trained as a chef but had a passion for charcuterie. He didn’t like things to be fake or designs that tried to hard. We talked about all sorts of subjects, not just his brand. When someone is the brand, it’s good to find out more about them than just what they want to promote and sell.
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