Sir Richard's brings one-for-one charity giving to condoms -- and one CU-Boulder dorm
On Wednesday evening, a handful of CU-Boulder students will be trying to improve the planet -- by handing out condoms.
But not just any condoms: Sir Richard's Condoms, from a Boulder company that's bringing the one-for-one charity model associated with TOMS Shoes to love gloves.
Jim Moscou, the CEO of Sir Richard's, calls himself a "recovering journalist," with a résumé that includes work as a contributing editor for the media-industry mag Editor & Publisher. And while the journalism biz is struggling these days, he definitely sees condoms as a growth industry.
"There's a general sentiment that we're still using our father's father's condom," he says. "You look at companies like Trojan, which are selling this really sophomoric approach to its use. So we saw an opportunity in the marketplace to build a brand that's much more relevant for condom users today. It's a company built by a group of creative social entrepreneurs and designers who asked, 'Can we build a better condom company that does good in the world from its inception?'"
Hence, the one-for-one model, in which Sir Richard's promises to donate one condom in developing countries for each one sold. The need is great, Moscou points out. "There is a huge global shortage in the access of condoms," he notes, with less than 17 percent of the contraceptive needs met by organizations such as the United Nations Population Fund. He points out that donations for such services fell by more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2008.
As far as Moscou knows, the Sir Richard's approach is the first time one-for-one has been used with condoms, "and what's so neat about that is, it has such a direct impact. We know that when people have access to condoms, it reduces disease, assists with better family planning and makes for a better world."
Page down to read about a Sir Richard's giveaway scheduled for tomorrow.
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