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Toys with a conscience
January 30, 2008

Due to the nature of my business I get to see a lot of new product concepts.  What I have been noticing for some time now is that the majority of them have some kind of ethical component. It can be one of encouraging charity, teaching to respect the environment, encouraging understanding between peoples of different countries and more.

I have been wondering if this is a general trend or just the type of individual I attract (and if that were the case it would make me mighty proud).  Well, an editorial in the Sunday New York Times entitled “The Age of Ambition”gives reason to believe that this is not just an idiosyncratic trend but possibly the wave of the future. 

Written by Nicholas D. Kristoff, the article speaks about the young social entrepreneurs “. . . who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in new ways. . . [S]uch people neither hand out fish nor teach people to fish; their aim is to revolutionize the fishing industry.”

Kristoff goes on to speak of a number of college aged entrepreneurs who have started highly successful businesses whose stated aim is to change the hearts, minds and pocket books of the people of the world.  I suggest you read the editorial as it will do your heart some good.

I think smart toy companies may want to give those values based products that come across their desks a second look.  There may be more to value than just play.

 

 

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on January 30, 2008 | Comments (1)