A Kiwi clothing company that allows you to choose where its profits go has just launched, and some local charities are set to benefit.
Cloud Base 9 is part of a new movement that puts "people before profits".
Cloud Base 9's business model is simple. Every time you buy a product, you get to choose where the profits go – not to a banker, or an investor, and definitely not to a board of directors.
"Rather than devise a company to make myself rich, it's how we can empower communities and local people to actually improve their own lives," says Cloud Base 9 founder Sam Clark.
Cloud Base 9 plans to give 80 percent of its profits to charity and the consumer will get to pick which charity their money goes to.
"I was just trying to incorporate a brand of clothing idea where it made it very simple for people to show their support, rather than clicking a "like" button, which actually doesn't do anything," says Mr Clark.
"They can buy the same item they ordinarily would but actually make a difference in the world."
The company has signed up several New Zealand charities already, including The Fred Hollows Foundation and CanTeen.
"People that come on board and want to support us and everything that we do and get behind our cause gives every young person that is going through such a hard time the hope and the fight to get better," says CanTeen New Zealand national president Anna Hozquard.
Cloud Base 9 will initially sell products including running shoes and a summer-themed clothing line, but it plans to rapidly expand its range.
"Outdoor hiking boots, cross-trail – now we're going to go into our yoga gear, compression wear. It's not going to stop. We're going to be knocking on Nike's doorstep anytime soon!" says Mr Clark.
He hopes to have the first Cloud Base 9 products available before Christmas.
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