From Their Cart to Yours with Steven Clift from GoodCarts
If you’re someone who holds a high moral standard but still takes the cheaper option off the store shelf without considering the impact of the product you are buying, it’s time to make your shopping reflect your values!
Today I’m joined by Steven Clift, whose career began at the intersection of politics, community building, and the internet, with the founding of an election information non-profit organization. His path has now shifted to the ecommerce space, but his goal of making the world a fairer place remains the same. As CEO of cross-promotional engine GoodCarts, Steve is helping shop-for-good and sustainable brands expand their reach. In this episode, Steve explains how GoodCarts works, some of the brands who form part of their 150 member strong network, and the big plans he has for the future of the company.
If more people start shopping with their values in mind, we can begin to turn the tide on the social and environmental degradation that is rife in the world today. After listening to this episode, the next time you have the choice between Fair Trade certified coffee and its non-Fair Trade certified equivalent, you won’t have to think long before you spend the extra few bucks!
Key Points From This Episode:
Steve shares what drew him into the political sphere.
The mission behind the non-profit organization that Steve founded.
How Steve feels about the current relationship between politics and the internet.
Steve’s experience as a facilitator of Facebook communities.
A characteristic of a community that has a sense of group ownership.
Tips from Steve for building a successful online community.
Why Steve was recognized as an Ashoka Fellow, and what this means.
The focus of Steve’s second, and current, career with GoodCarts.
150: the number of brands that are part of the GoodCarts network.
One of the major challenges that small, sustainable brands are faced with.
A description of how GoodCarts works (with accompanying visuals available on YouTube).
Examples of the different circles that brands fall under on GoodCarts.
Ideas that Steve has for the future of GoodCarts.
Steve shares some member success stories.
The importance of a compelling feature image.
Tweetables:
“Political dialogue doesn’t scale very well nationally, but it can be super empowering in local communities everywhere.” — @democracy [0:07:28]
“The same tools you would use to talk to people across your community are the same tools you can connect with people who have like-minds globally.” — @democracy [0:09:41]
“Everything is possible, just not probably. But I actually see a lot of probability with GoodCarts.” — @democracy [0:42:46]
“Our slogan is ‘Grow Together, Win Together,’ and because we’re fed by your post-checkout traffic, we have every incentive in the world to help you win in every way possible.” — @democracy [0:48:48]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
