NEW ORLEANS – Goods that Matter, an eco-design company led by prized social entrepreneur Tippy Tippens, holds strong during the COVID-19 pandemic to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Tippens founded the company in response to another crisis, the BP oil spill, and established Goods that Matter as the first B Corporation in the state of Louisiana.
Tippens reflects, “I moved to New Orleans in 2010 on a leap of faith to pursue this idea of products working for us instead of against us and have steadily added new eco-products and collaborations ever since. I got my start on Kickstarter to fund the first batches of BirdProject soaps to help with the BP oil spill cleanup. Over the past decade, I’ve been building Goods that Matter in a place where climate change is a daily reminder, so this keeps my mission of working to protect the environment at the forefront.”
True to her North Star mantra of “Let’s Link Arms”, Tippens uses her creative vision of Goods that Matter as a way to bring small businesses together. In 2016, Tippens founded The GOOD Shop, home to Goods that Matter, Heartsleeve, Masterman Ceramics, Passion Lillie, Poet Motors, and Smoke Perfume, among others. “Collaboration is one of my favorite things about being a business leader in New Orleans. I really enjoy working with local designers, makers, and community groups,” Tippens says.
The GOOD Shop has grown to support 30+ local makers, 29 of those being owned by women and people of color. This charming shop, from concept to design, also hosts monthly popup shops for a variety of local businesses and non-profits, as well as supporting four visiting artists per year. Online reviews tout The GOOD Shop as a place that inspires shoppers to do more in their own communities and to find meaning in the products they buy.
The words “Do Good, Feel Good” grace The GOOD Shop’s front windows alongside the increasing tally of donations to environmental and social causes, including the Backstreet Cultural Museum, The Ocean Cleanup, RESTORE the Mississippi River Delta, She Should Run, the Innocence Project New Orleans, Electric Girls, and so many more. Sales from the shop have donated nearly $60K and counting.
Tippens adds, “I am proud to be a woman at the helm of the first Benefit Corporation in Louisiana. As Goods that Matter moves into its second decade of business, its mission will focus on fighting climate change, reducing plastic in our day-to-day lives, and helping our customers navigate decisions to make their homes healthier for themselves and the environment. One way we’ll do this is by adopting new plant-based practices in manufacturing for home and lifestyle goods, and leave petroleum-based methods in the past.”
Looking ahead, Tippens is kicking off a new group of low waste eco-home goods that replace plastic disposables. She’s proud of her latest partnership with a Baton Rouge mother-daughter business, an apiary and producer of all-natural beeswax products, to make beeswax food wraps. The donation partner for Goods that Matter beeswax wraps is World Central Kitchen, providing dignity and nutritious meals to disaster survivors.
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