Carrotmob is an innovative new initiative for corporate social responsibility just starting up in San Francisco. The premise with Carrotmob is that in order to incite change in corporate America, we need to use more Carrot (profit$, great PR, etc.) and less stick (legislation, bad PR, etc.)
Carrotmob's goal is to bring together massive numbers of socially minded consumers to patronize the highest "bidding" corporation. In this case, the "bidding" from the corporations is their commitment to change blatantly unsustainable practices, remove harsh chemicals from their production, or other such efforts. In exchange, the entire mob of Carrotmobbers will patronize that company over its competitors, and help to generate positive PR online and in other media.
Now, while this grand vision is inspiring, the Mob is starting with a very necessary baby step - changing the practices of one Bay Area business. The first Mob event is on March 29th at K & D Market, on 16th St between Valencia and Guerrero in San Francisco. This store has committed to taking 22% of gross receipts that day and using them to invest in upgrades to make their store more environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient. I think this is a great start.
Check out more detail on the Carrotmob Website - and save the date, March 29th if you live in the Bay Area!
