A company started by three friends: Simon, Jehan, and Danny, “Who Gives a Crap” sounds like a humorous business. Maybe it is, but they realize their goal is serious. There are about 2.5 billion people in the world who don’t have access to a toilet, which is about 40% of the worlds population. These men knew their goal was to provide toilets to those without access around the world, and they were able to come up with a way to do it. “Who Gives a Crap” is now a company that sells toilet paper in order to provide toilets to 3rd world countries in need.
In 2012, they launched their business through crowd funding, and thankfully, people actually “gave a crap.” Simon sat down on a toilet, and refused to move until they had raised 50,000$. After 50 hours, the three friends had finally reached their financial goal. Now, Simon, Jehan, and Danny’s business is a fairly large scale toilet paper provider, offering cheap toilet paper. They donate 50% of their revenue to WaterAid, a company that will build and distribute the toilets in the countries who need it the most.
“Who Gives a Crap” is not just a business with a clever and funny name, they are one with a set and achievable goal. Simon, Jehan, and Danny figured out a way to make profit for themselves and develop a charitable organization. If you want to check out some of their products, you can visit http://us.whogivesacrap.org/pages/about-us.
Great business idea with a great mission! I love the name and I bet it gets them a lot of attention that they wouldn’t have gotten without it! It sounds like so far their humorous approach to non-profits is working well- maybe this is something that more organizations should try out!
This is so clever and awesome. Its not something you think of first when you think third world. Theres so much concentration on shelter and food and education, but we overlook one of the most basic needs. I love how they connect their mission, with their product, with their name. What else would you want to do after hearing the name Who Gives a Crap but look up why in the world they named it that. Its promotional and functional all at once.
I really like this idea and the name. It just seems to make it very down to earth and understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. The fact that they are partnering with another organization seems like a really smart idea and obviously they are seemingly doing well. Also, when we think of world problems you tend to think of violence, hunger and water, and some others. This is not really one of the first you think of, so it’s great that their is an organization for it.
I certainly give a crap. Thanks for sharing. It sounds sort of like TOMS. They sell something so they can help people in need. I wonder how they initially came up with the idea, and how many people tried to convince them to change their name (which I’m glad they didn’t).