| Buy Something After selecting the item you wish to buy, choose a charity and click “add to cart.” If you are unsure about which charity you’d like to donate to, simply click on the Partnerships tab on the top of the page. There, you will find links to the charities’ websites. :: patchworkroad.com |
It is Elle Woods’ dream come to fruition (and yes, we’re citing Legally Blonde) — a place where shopping and giving to a charity find common ground, a place quite unlike the conventional online shopping websites built solely for profit of the manufacturer and the retailer.
The mystical place of which we speak is called Patchwork Road, a website built on the idea that shopping shouldn’t just be about buying something cool, but advancing humanity as well.
Co-founded by Irvine residents (and Fountain Valley natives) Ryan Moreau and Evan Friedl, this e-commerce site has one very pointed goal, according to CEO Moreau, “a desire to make purchasing matter more.”
This desire, combined with knowledge of marketing and manufacturing, gave rise to the site. And this isn’t the only benefit to shopping at patchworkroad.com. Shoppers on the site also receive discounted prices to products that are often not on the shelves of retail stores and will not be there for some time.
“We get exclusive products or exclusive deals,” Moreau says. “You’re not going to find the deals we have even on the website of the brand.”
By donating a portion of their profits, Patchwork Road ensures that their deals are better than any retail store can offer. So, the brand is happy because it is getting the suggested retail price and the consumers are happy because they are getting great deals for high-end products.
On top of the guarantee of 10% off retail prices and that 10% of profits are donated to a charity, Patchwork also sells products that give back to the international community. One example is 31 Bits, which purchases jewelry made by women in Uganda and sells them to consumers all around the world. The result is that these women have a way to help them rise from poverty.
Interested in purchasing something, but can’t find your favorite charity on the list? Not a problem: Patchwork Road is always looking to add to their list of charities. The process of adding a local charity to Patchwork’s list can take around two business days, depending on the response time of the charity. Once the charity is on the website, anyone is able to donate to it.
