Made to Matter - Handpicked by Target

Target has joined together 16 natural, organic, and sustainable companies to form “Made to Matter—Handpicked by Target.” These brands will be promoted through a major marketing campaign this fall and showcased in-store on end caps. The strategy is to raise awareness of the sustainable brands they carry (read more about Target’s commitment to sustainability), but also to increase trial across product categories by leveraging credibility from a customer’s established brand preferences.

For instance, I purchase organic baby food for my son—and two of our favorite brands, Ella’s Kitchen and Plum Organics (a fellow B Corp, BTW), are included in this campaign. As a shopper, Target is hoping that I will walk by the “Made to Matter” end cap, see two brands I already trust and purchase regularly, and be more willing to try a new product from a brand that is associated through the campaign—like Hyland’s Baby Vitamin C Tablets. I can guarantee you I would have never considered a Vitamin C tablet before this, but now I feel like my son, Otto, may need them.

As part of the campaign, each of the 16 featured brands will develop a new product and sell it exclusively at Target for six months. Undoubtedly I will get hooked on one of the exclusive products—steering my car towards the Target parking lot more than I would like to admit. The new products will be joined together through branded packaging—a green “Made to Matter” seal imprint.

"Innovation was core to the idea from the beginning, because these are all market-leading brands we already sold in our stores, so it had to be more than just marketing the brands we already sell," said Jeff Jones, Target's CMO. "We want this seal to become recognized by consumers and to become a shortcut for consumers, so they know they're making a good choice for their family."

Participating brands include Annie’s Homegrown, Burt’s Bees, Clif Bar, Ella’s Kitchen, EVOL, Horizon Organic, Hyland’s, Kashi, method (###a href="http://www.bcorporation.net/community/method-products-pbc" target="_blank">B Corp), Plum Organics (B Corp), Seventh Generation (B Corp), SheaMoisture, Target’s Simply Balanced, Vita Coco, Yes To, and Zarbee’s Naturals.

These brands are sustainable, organic, natural and tout their ‘goodness’ for your health, home, or environment—but when you work at a purpose-driven branding agency you start questioning if they support some social ‘goodness’ as well. A quick Google search left me pleasantly surprised. All but three of the companies had a clearly stated purpose component on their website—and one company even mentioned their employee volunteer program.

Don’t take my word for it. Check out a few of my favorites (you will notice a definite theme here. I have a soft spot for children’s causes) and see how these companies are using business as a force for good.

Annie’s Homegrown - Grants for Gardens

Annie's believes that gardens help connect kids to real food. They've helped fund more than 270 gardens at schools and other educational programs through their ‘Grants for Gardens’ donations.

Burt’s Bees – The Greater Good Foundation

Burt's Bees established a charitable organization designed to further their mission of responsible environmental stewardship. The Greater Good Foundation empowers non-profit, grassroots initiatives whose efforts inspire them—particularly in the areas of protecting honeybees, supporting sustainable agriculture, and supporting their local Durham community.

Clif - Clif Bar Family Foundation

Clif Bar Family Foundation supports nonprofits working to strengthen our food system and communities, enhance public health, and safeguard our environment and natural resources. Supported causes include everything from Seed Matters, a group working to improve organic seed, to GRID Alternatives (B Corp), which installs solar panels for homeowners in low-income communities.

EVOL - The Growe Foundation

EVOL supports The Growe Foundation, a local non-profit working to address the rising rates of dietary and environmentally related diseases affecting kids. Using school vegetable gardens, it engages students in lessons about food, how it is grown, and how our choices affect the environment, all while they practice and improve on their math, science, and social studies skills.

method – Employee service program

Every employee at method gets 3 days every year to give back to the local community and serve however they would like.

Plum Organics - The Full Effect

Plum has created a program dedicated to nourishing little ones in need across America. To date, they have donated over 5 million healthy, organic meals to feed hungry children across the nation.

Yes To

YES TO gives back a portion of its company profits to the YES TO Seed Fund, whose goal is to inspire kids to lead healthier, more positive lives.