Take responsible consumerism up a notch
While not impossible, being a responsible consumer is oftentimes tricky. But when it feels like making the conscious and ethical decision is offset by prevalent corporate practices that harm the environment and the people they employ, it can get disheartening, forcing us to wonder if any of these make a difference.
But ethical consumption is important regardless. It pushes corporations to adjust their practices to appease and attract their target markets. Hence, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives—it’s brand building under the guise of (hopefully) good intentions. Community stores, one such CSR initiative spearheaded by Starbucks, aim to support local organizations and communities using proceeds taken from a specific branch.
However, the community store concept extends far beyond the world’s biggest coffee shop chain. Whether it is by directly supporting local NGOs or uplifting smaller businesses and communities, there are many community stores where patronage is sure to impart a real positive impact on someone out there.
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Starbucks Maysilo Circle Community Store
Starbucks Philippines recently opened its second community store in Maysilo Circle, Mandaluyong City after just opening one in Abad Santos, Tondo in September 2023.
A portion of the proceeds from the Maysilo Circle Community Store will support Mano Amiga Philippines, an organization dedicated to enhancing education for children from low-income communities. Mano Amiga was established in Mexico in 1963 and has since become active in the Philippines since 2008.
Starting this October, Starbucks Philippines, in partnership with Mano Amiga, will launch the Raising Readers and Raising Leaders programs. These initiatives will benefit the underprivileged youth at Nayon ng Kabataan in the Welfareville Community, Mandaluyong City.
Raising Readers promotes literacy through storytelling, arts and crafts, and nutritious meals while Raising Leaders offers leadership training, life skills workshops, scholarships, and school placement support.
The Good Store
Launched in 2017 as an online marketplace for local goods, The Good Store opened a cafe in 2023 that doubles as a brick-and-mortar shop.
The Makati-based store features a collection of products by community and cause-driven businesses. From enterprises such as Life is Pawsome (a pet accessory and furniture label that supports animal shelters) to GROW.PH (a livelihood program for a displaced community in Bulacan), each of their brands is driven by advocacies The Good Store seeks to promote through their products.
The Good Store is located at Grand Soho Building, H.V. dela Costa, Salcedo Village, Makati.
Frankie General Store
Frankie General Store partners with and empowers local artisans and homegrown businesses. With over 400 brands under their belt across their stores in Manila and Australia, they connect these smaller ventures to a wider audience through their physical and online spaces.
Since opening its first pop-up at SM Aura, Frankie General Store has expanded with branches in Rockwell, The Podium, and Mitsukoshi Mall.
R2R
R2R employs sustainable practices and materials in its line of clothes, bags, accessories, and home items. Beyond sustainability, they also partner with community artisans as well as other social enterprises in their production process. Their designs also use Indigenous fabrics and designs, further catapulting local culture into the mainstream.
R2R is available online and physically at their showroom at 87 Sct. Fuentebella, Quezon City.
Roots Collective
Roots Collective began as a co-working space and boutique café in Katipunan. In the years since, it has developed into a one-stop shop for over 120 local brands. They also collaborate with and advocate for several cause-driven organizations.
In 2019, they partnered with the Peace & Equity Foundation and the Forest Foundation Philippines to help scale up local initiatives and businesses. More recently, they collaborated with Tagpi-Tagpi to collect unwanted fabrics for a line of upcycled plushies.
Roots Collective’s flagship store is located at the Uptown Mall.
Bayo Atelier
Bayo Atelier was created to showcase the Bayo Foundation’s work—the CommUNITY Partnership Program (CPP)—where the brand partners with local weavers who, under the guidance of Bayo’s designers, craft products that are marketable to a wider audience.
Through this initiative, not only are local artisans given employment and opportunities, but the gap between consumer wants and the design sensibilities associated with traditional and Indigenous products is closed and brought closer to the mainstream.
Bayo Atelier is located at Greenbelt 5.