The Carrot Mob is coming to Hot Lips Pizza
Do you know what a Carrot Mob is? I didn't either, until I was introduced to it by the Multnomah Youth Commission:
Several Central Catholic High School students are determined to bring Carrotmob to Portland to encourage businesses to do their part in the battle against global warming.
On June 21 (Father‟s Day), Carrotmob Portland will hold a "reverse boycott" at HOTLIPS Pizza on 22nd and SE Hawthorne from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Every dollar spent will go directly towards making HOTLIPS more energy efficient. In addition to helping the environment, the event promises to be a lot of fun: Carrotmob has lined up musicians to play in HOTLIPS' closed-off parking lot all day, and there will be a fair of other environmentally-focused organizations.
"This is as much about making one store environmentally friendly as it is about making people aware of Carrotmob and the power we have as consumers," says Lucas Weisensee, one of the organizers of Carrotmob and a Central Catholic senior.
"When you buy a slice of pizza or a bottle of soda, you have the choice to support an environmentally-friendly business. Carrotmob makes this choice easier for you. Instead of avoiding a business with bad practices, Carrotmob attracts customers to a company with good ones," Weisensee says.
Carrotmob is a method of activism that enables consumers to use their collective buying power to reward businesses that will make socially and environmentally responsible improvements. Instead of avoiding a business with bad practices, Carrotmob attracts customers to a company with good ones. After Carrotmob, the company has more customers, they buy things they would normally buy, and the environment is saved. "In a boycott, everyone loses," explains the organization‟s website. "In a Carrotmob, everyone wins."
Last March, Brent Schulkin started Carrotmob by mobbing the liquor store in Brooklyn, New York, who pledged the most of their revenue to make their store more energy efficient. After that store received three times more business than in an ordinaryday others around the world were inspired to imitate Schulkin's model.
New York City, Kansas City, London, Helsinki and Vancouver B.C. are among the cities who have held successful events. Still in its early stages, all of Carrotmob's campaigns so far have worked with small businesses. However, Carrotmob sets its sights high: Its members would like to work with large corporations and make even more significant impact on the environment.
"There is no end to how great of an impact this could have," says Portland Carrotmobber and Central Catholic junior, Chloe Tims. “With a global following, any corporation can be Carrotmobbed.”
Earlier this year, several seniors at Central Catholic High School became interested in bringing Carrotmob to Portland. “Despite the popularity of „An Inconvenient Truth‟ and the election of a president who puts fighting climate change near the top of his agenda, many Portlanders are disappointed with the government's efforts to curb greenhouse gases and minimize environmental damage,” says Tim Bauman, co-founder of Carrotmob Portland and Central Catholic senior.
“After the college admissions process was over, we suddenly found ourselves with a lot of free time on our hands, and we wanted to do something worthwhile. With Portland‟s outstanding reputation for environmental awareness, Portlanders are ready for a Carrotmob."
Several stores expressed interest in Carrotmob, but once HOTLIPS Pizza pledged 100% of their revenue, they were granted the honor of holding the very first Portland Carrotmob, and the seniors kicked into full gear.
ABOUT HOTLIPS PIZZA
Founded in 1984, HOTLIPS is a Portland family-owned business with five pizza restaurants, a commissary kitchen, a soda brewing operation, and presence at 9 area farmers‟ markets. Though HOTLIPS has a long history of progressive environmental reforms, there is always more work to be done. “Depending on the event success, the projects will range from replacing a garage door and increasing heat reclamation to installing solar panels if we hit a home run,” says HOTLIPS co-owner David Yudkin. HOTLIPS will sell cases of its real fruit soda at a special discounted price and there will be plenty of pizza on hand to handle the crowds Carrotmob hopes will turn out on Father‟s Day for some environmental activism.
Posted on June 18, 2009
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