By Laura Mueller-Soppart
From the founder of our favorite eyeglass store, Warby Parker, comes another successful social enterprise: Harry’s Razors.
Often we feel most confident on the inside when we know we are projecting confidence on the outside. Presentation is a very important part of the professional world. We spend hours preparing outfits for interviews, grooming for presentations, and planning for events.
Unfortunately the means to spend those hours are not available to millions across the world, and here at home in the United States. A shave is not critical to success, however the feeling of empowerment is essential.
Harry’s pledges to donate one blade or the dollar equivalent to a charity that believes in the same principle of empowerment.
What distinguishes Harry’s Razors from a typical corporate social responsibility (CSR) model is that the objective is to lower the average consumer’s razor’s price point, too. The price of a typical blade is $4; the average Harry’s Razor is $2.
The quality is not compromised. The company went through great lengths to deconstruct the razor production process and analyze where consumer and producer costs could be saved. Harry’s razors are manufactured with German engineering precision with high quality metals and smart ergonomic designs.
Harry’s Razors intends to enlighten the concept of fair price for an item that many of us consider a necessity, and ensure that this necessity can be available to as many people as possible.
Warby Parker, the aforementioned eyeglasses company, is similarly structured. Its founders tried to uncover why it costs nearly $400 to see properly. They found that the exclusivity of the technology behind lenses and a mega frame producer that licenses brand names were behind the inflated price tag. Today, Warby Parker offers hundreds of eyeglasses with prescription lenses starting at $95. Additionally, Warby Parker partnered with VisionSpring to distribute eyeglasses to those that cannot afford them. VisionSpring is also no standard buy one, give one organization. Rather, its method is centered on enabling low-income entrepreneurs to sell affordable eye care in their communities.
Harry’s Razor’s first community partner is The Mission Continues, which aims to empower veterans to transfer their skills from the armed forces to the civilian workforce. The Mission Continues organizes six-month fellowships for veterans at not for profit organizations to help them realize their potential and renew their sense of purpose.
The mission of these types of social enterprises is based on injecting fairness into the general market to yield outcomes that can support the needier, too. Transparency is price is rare. Yet, as new companies like Harry’s Razors and Warby Parker continue to emerge, the consumer will also continue to demand a fairer price and a better mission.
What are some products you reluctantly purchase because even though the price is high, it’s a necessity? What are ways you can change that?
