Big businesses get a bad reputation for being greedy, destructive, capitalist machines, but whilst that is sometimes true, some companies or industries often seen as ‘bad’ actually do a massive load of good in the world too. Yes, it might just be CEOs trying to re-shift the karmic balance in their lives, but I’m sure some of them genuinely want to make the world a better place.
McDonald’s
Very tasty, yet very bad for all of us. McDonalds was founded in San Bernardino, California way back in 1940 (not sure when they adopted the terrifying clown mascot) and have since grown to be the biggest hamburger fast-food chain in the world; polluting our arteries with their incredibly tasty food since World War II. They may get a bad reputation for the amount of ‘gunk’ found in their foods, but they also donate a lot of money each year. In 1974 McDonalds helped to start the Ronald McDonald House which has become a leading charity in providing housing for families and children, particularly near hospitals. Since 2010, the RMHC has raised $30 million, as 1 penny from every Happy Meal sold goes directly to the charity. A penny might not sound a lot, but considering the amount of Happy Meals that are sold, many lives are being changed and affected positively every day.
Dispensaries
I would forgive you for not having heard of Dispensaries.com. Essentially it’s a directory for medical marijuana users. Marijuana has a bad reputation in the world, and there are many good arguments for this, however the use of it for medical purposes has proven very effective in relieving the pain felt by thousands of Americans. Dispensaries helps promotes healthy marijuana use, for medical purpose only and away from kids and animals. It shows you how to consume weed in a way that is less harmful unlike with the inhalation of smoke which can have some negative side-effects. When used responsibly medical marijuana can be a force for good, and a directory like this is helping lead the change.
Velvet
Although this is a UK company, I wanted to bring it up as they do incredible work that a lot of US companies can learn from. Velvet manufacture toilet paper and you may be thinking, ‘well how can they be bad’, but you need to look at the ecological implications of toilet paper manufacturing. It destroys a lot of trees every year and most companies don’t seem to care. Velvet decided that enough was enough and for every softwood tree they cut down, they plant three more (they plant one more for every hardwood they destroy). This means that since they started this initiative they have planted 7,716,589 trees (and counting). Just have a think what good could be done if every newspaper, book publisher, and toilet paper manufacturer followed Velvet’s example.
Here are three companies that are doing exceptional – and different – work around the globe, but these are just three companies and if every major corporation made a big push to do something good, this world would be a much better place.
