What do condoms, coffee and watches have in common?
They all give back -- and now, they do it in one place.
Roozt, a new e-commerce site designed to make cause-shopping easy gives its users options to shop by cause, region impacted, or by product. Its hope in the curated and cause-related collection is simple: "[Bring] sexy back to giving back," the organization's video says.
Brent Freeman, the 26-year-old founder of Roozt, believes its part of his generation to purchase products that carry cause.
“Gen Y loves brands that express personality through their purchase,” he told Mashable. “You can quickly go into Roozt, discover the coolest brands making a difference, see their products and get into their mission.”
For today's consumers, adding mission means adding value.
In December of last year, Cone LLC released a study that said 94 percent of consumers would switch brands if one carried a cause and the other did not.
The idea also resonated with Steve Schimmel, one of the founding members of Google, who backed Roozt early with a quarter of a million dollars, MyFoxLA.com reports.
Social companies like Sir Richard's Condom Company, which donates a condom to a third world country for each one bought, WeWood watches which plant a tree for every watch it sells, and fair-trade coffee seller Growers First Coffee, are a few of the over 60 brands currently housed by Roozt -- and the start-up is hoping that number keeps growing.
"You can use business," Freeman said, "a powerful, economic engine... as a positive vehicle for change."
Feel like shopping for a cause? Find out more at Roozt.com.