colorful conversations

Posts Tagged ‘Social Responsibility’

• 01.28.11 

  GoodWeave’s One in a Million Campaign

  A member since 2005, Company C is proud to be part of GoodWeave USA. We support GoodWeave as it unveils One in a Million, the nonprofit’s new campaign to bring attention to its market-based solution to end child labor in the handmade rug industry. The campaign, whose flagship ad (seen below) appears in the February 2011 issue of dwell, made its official debut at the Atlanta International Area Rug Market January 13-16.

  

  The campaign draws its inspiration from the estimated one million children exploited in the carpet-making industry when GoodWeave began its work in 1994, and the one million or more knots that go into each handcrafted rug. GoodWeave has helped reduce the incidence of child labor in South Asia’s handmade rug industry by an estimated 75 percent.

  To learn more about GoodWeave, please visit: www.goodweave.org

  

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• 07.02.10 

  And the winners of our Passion for Pink rug-naming contest are…

  We recently announced the winners of our Passion for Pink rug-naming contest. The Facebook- and blog-based contest was designed to raise awareness about breast cancer and honor those affected by the disease. The two newly named rugs are spin-offs of Company C’s best-selling Garland and Giverny rug designs; now re-colored in shades of pink, the rugs will be named “Karen’s Warrior Rug” and “The Sisters Rug.”

  Company C will donate twenty percent of the retail price of each rug sold to support breast cancer awareness, research and education. In addition, all contest participants will receive one of the new accent rugs, and the namesakes will have their stories featured in Company C’s Spring 2011 catalog.

  “The Sisters Rug,” is named after Allison Moir-Smith of Manchester by the Sea, Massachusestts and her sisters. In Allison’s family of five sisters, four battled breast cancer in the last five years, and the fifth participated in a study to help understand how women’s genes and their environments influence risk of breast cancer. All five sisters are living and well today.

  “Karen’s Warrior Rug” honors Karen List of West Palm Beach, Florida, who first learned of her cancer when she was a young mother of two boys. Karen helped to raise awareness of the disease by becoming a breast health advocate and educator, and was later honored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure as their “Warrior in Pink.” Recently named Chair for the 2011 Race for the Cure, Karen continues to fight “not just for me, but for my fellow warriors.”

  “Our entire organization felt very strongly about supporting this cause and what better way to show our support than through the use of color and design,” said Walter Chapin, co-founder and president. “This contest was part of our larger Passion for Pink initiative, which we started in 2008 and continue to stand behind with the hopes we can inspire colorful living for our customers and all those affected by breast cancer.”

  “Karen’s Warrior Rug” and “The Sisters Rug,” will be available for sale to end consumers in September 2010 at more than 800 specialty retailers nationwide; at company-owned retail stores in Hingham, MA, Portland, ME and Concord, NH; and online at www.companyc.com. Both limited edition rugs are hand-hooked 2-feet by 3-feet accent rugs made of 100 percent wool.

  Thank you to all of those who participated in our Passion for Pink rug-naming contest!

  

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• 04.22.10 

  Naturally Beautiful on Earth Day and Every Day

  Today we celebrated Earth Day–a day to inspire awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s environment. At Company C, we also take the time to care on days other than April 22. Our Natural Grounds rugs are naturally beautiful in more ways than one: We use untreated 100 percent natural wool when constructing these rugs, greatly reducing the amount of dye used to make them. The less dye used, the fewer natural resources are consumed. The natural colors of wool range from shades of ivory and ecru, to medium browns and grays, to almost black. When we use natural yarn, it instantly adds warmth to the design because it’s less flat; there’s an inherent variation in the shades that adds depth.

  Our Natural Grounds collection includes four rugs–Sachi, Wentworth Floral, Yukata, and Yuri. The overscaled chrysanthemum designs in the Sachi rug are fresh and modern. “Sachi” is a Japanese name meaning “Happiness,” and this rug will surely make you smile. Wentworth Floral boasts an arresting floral pattern in all natural shades of gray. The Yukata rug was inspired by the brightly colored kimonos worn in Japan. By layering vibrant red, teal, wasabi and gold colors on the black bean ground of this rug, this rug is a true statement piece. The Yuri’s Ikat patterns in brilliant colors make for a dramatic contrast against the dark charcoal (and natural) ground.

  And don’t forget our Natural Grounds rugs are GoodWeave certified, assuring you that your handmade rug was created without the use of child labor. Join us this month to celebrate these naturally beautiful rugs. Enjoy 25 percent savings on our Natural Grounds rugs. Make a statement in your home–be naturally beautiful today and every day.

  

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• 04.07.10 

  A thought-provoking photography exhibit…

  Company C recently sponsored GoodWeave’s Faces of Freedom exhibit in each of our three retail stores – Concord, NH, Portland, ME and Hingham, MA. The collection of photographs, taken by acclaimed documentary photographer U. Roberto Romano in South Asia, depicts both the horrors of child labor and the hopeful faces of children the GoodWeave program has saved from the looms. The exhibit offers a deep look into the heart of this transformation. We’ve received such positive feedback that we really just don’t want the exhibit to end so we’ve decided to launch an online version of the exhibit.

  Company C has been a member of GoodWeave since October 2005. Our goal has been to educate consumers about the powerful impact their purchases can have and to help build awareness about child labor in the handmade rug industry.

  As you journey through the exhibition, you’ll learn about the ancient craft of rug weaving juxtaposed with the grim reality of weavers, too young to be at the looms, laboring in poor conditions where childhoods remain incomplete. However, the bright faces and futures of rescued children will bring joy to your heart! For many of these children, GoodWeave schools and centers provided their first opportunity to be in a classroom or playground.

  We encourage you to share your thoughts on the exhibit with others. We look forward to hearing your feedback.

  

  
  

  

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• 11.11.09 

  We give a hoot…

  Roots. There’s always that something special about your roots—where it all began. As you might know, Company C started in New Hampshire out of the owners’ garage, and today we continue to run our corporate offices and design studio out of the Granite State. As a salute to our roots, we recently partnered with New Hampshire Audubon Society, an organization with the mission to protect New Hampshire’s natural environment for wildlife and for the people. It was a perfect match: It’s our mission every day to enhance people’s surroundings and inspire them to share the joys of Colorful Living (and we like to do this through more than just home furnishings). Especially in the autumn, New Hampshire’s landscapes transform into an inspirational palette of colors and textures. Company C values its beautiful home; it made perfect sense to contribute to maintaining its beauty…

  

  Newfound Lake, New Hampshire, October 09 (photo by G. Talbot)

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• 11.02.09 

  Dedicated to a world without breast cancer….

  Our first-time Passion for Pink event was very successful! We would like to thank all of you who participated; as a result of your support Company C will be making a donation of nearly $40,000 to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. For two-days, Company C donated 15% of sales from our website; three retail stores in Hingham, MA, Portland, ME and Concord, NH; national base of wholesale customers; and our tradeshow in High Point, NC to benefit national and local breast cancer awareness, research and education.

  We had customers coming in because of our “color with a cause” theme, and they were drawn into our space because of the interactive board and color pink. Reading all of the quotes on the interactive board was extremely inspirational. Customers paid tribute to loved ones, signed their names, posted quotes, etc.

  We worked with Becky Burke, chair of the Komen VT-NH Race for the Cure.  We were very excited to call her with the results. Seventy-five percent of the donation will be dedicated to local community breast cancer education, treatment and screening programs. So the donation will make a real impact in both New Hampshire and Vermont.. The remaining twenty-five percent will go to the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure Grants Program to fund breast cancer research. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1.800.IMAWARE.

  To see more photos from the event, please visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/colorfulliving.

  Dedicated to a world without breast caner – Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

  

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• 10.14.09 

  Share your passion for pink!

  We recently announced that we’ll donating 15% of ALL sales on October 17 & 18 to breast cancer awareness, education and advocacy. Our goal is to contribute funding for research that could improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This life-threatening disease continues to have an impact across the globe and here at home. We’re inspired to find new and innovative ways to get involved as we dream of a world without cancer.

  To publicly show our support, our retail stores and showroom in High Point, NC will display an interactive message board during the month of October. The boards were unveiled today! We’re inviting everyone to share the passion of pink…our guests are encouraged to write on the wall: a tribute to a close friend or family member, your own personal story, a donation in your name to a terrific cause or what pink means to you. If you’re unable to make it to a Company C retail location or the High Point, simply respond to this blog post and we’ll write the message on your behalf.

  We’ll also be promoting our Sachi Pink 2×3 accent rug. This rug is available year-round with 20% of the sale of each rug going to support breast cancer.

  For those interested in learning more about breast cancer, please visit one of the following web sites. If there are additional sites that you’d like to share, please let us know.

  http://www.komen.org/
  http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2x.asp?sitearea=LRN&dt=5
  http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/
  http://www.nbcam.org/
  http://www.breastcancerawareness.com/

  Thank you for your support,
  The team at Company C

  

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• 09.24.09 

  RugMark Launches New GoodWeave Label!

  

  GoodWeave Label

  Congratulations to Rugmark on the launching its new GoodWeave label! We’ve been with Rugmark for four years this October and are excited to partner with them to promote the GoodWeave brand.

  For of those of you who are not familiar with RugMark, it offers a third party certification program to ensure consumers that independent inspectors have visited the loom or factory where their rug was made to ensure no child had a hand in the rugs making and a percentage of the rug sale is used to educate children in weaving communities in India.

  Here’s a video Walter took on one of his last trips to India:
  

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