What would happen if brands replaced advertising with activism, and ad dollars with donations? That's what I'm attempting with Collective Care — the most tangible expression of the Activist Skincare mission to date.
I’m Allison, the founder of Activist — but I’m not just a founder. I am neck deep in every aspect of running this business every single day. I formulated all my products and I still make them myself, every week. If you email Activist, it’s me emailing you back. I would rather spend my time making great skincare, tending to my customers, being a mom and volunteering in my community than running an e-commerce marketing machine.
Most brands put a huge amount of the sales price of each product into marketing, but from the beginning I've followed my conscience and done things differently. Activist is a self-funded, woman owned business that supports a real family. I started this brand with my own money and have never taken on any investors. Why? Because I would much rather be able to make the most ethical choices while running this business than pursue a growth-at-all-costs mindset, which relies on heavy marketing and ad spend. (Not to mention, cutting corners on ingredients, paying workers living wages and other things I won’t get into right now.)
So rather than paying an ad agency or a PR company and spending a lot on ads with Meta, Google and Amazon, I would rather put the money into renowned nonprofit organizations who are doing the work that we so urgently need to protect human rights and the environment.
So here is my marketing strategy: several times a year, I will donate 100% of profits for a few days to an organization that reflects Activist Skincare’s mission, and I will ask as many creators as I possibly can to share this fundraising campaign with their audiences — in the hopes that I will earn the business of new customers who share Activist values, and that they will come back and refill their Activist Skincare products again and again, which pays the bills for my family.
That means Mark Zuckerberg and the billionaire class get less of your money and my money, and great organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earth Justice, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and more orgs focusing on human rights and the environment, get a much needed boost.
To me, turning capitalism on its head like this is the most rewarding possible thing I could do with this business — besides making great products that your skin loves.
