Privilege Blog

Introducing Uncommon Goods, And A Few Beautiful Objects

Map Coasters from Uncommon Goods

Uncommon Goods has sponsored this post. However, I am honor-bound to give you my true opinion, otherwise my dad might speak to me strictly in his study.

I am a big fan of capitalism, when tempered with kindness. As it happens, I’m the only person “in trade” left in my family, everybody else is devoted to truth, knowledge, and kindness. But I do believe that one can do right in business: that top-flight business practices are today’s manifestation of what’s good in the American dream, and that often the impact of our laws is our best export.

So consider, if you would be so kind, a company called Uncommon Goods. Here are a few of the details they would like you to know.

  • [We were] founded in 1999 and [are] headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.
  • We run all our operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal, including our warehouse where the lowest-paid seasonal worker starts at 50% above the minimum wage.
  • We make it our mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers; in fact, half of what we sell is made by hand.
  • Most of the products we carry are created right here in the USA, and about one-third of our entire collection incorporates recycled and/or upcycled materials.

And here’s the detail I’d most like to share.

  • Uncommon Goods is a B Corp: B Corporations use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. We are proud to be a founding B Corp since the B seal means that we meet a rigorous standard on a wide range of issues, including wage levels, environmental impact, and giving back to our community.

I had never heard of B Corporations before Uncommon Goods reached out to me. Benefit corporations are legal entities, neither the standard for-profit C corp, nor a traditional non-profit. And the B seal is a certification administrated by B-Lab, a non-profit. For more detail, this Forbes article is useful.

I find the idea of a commercial entity legally granted the right to try for social good – as much as profit – encouraging. I hope that organizations like this help evolve the role business plays in the American dream.

But back to quotidian commerce, you guys, and, if not always full-on beauty, the pleasure in a graceful line and harmonious colors.

Uncommon Goods is particularly interested in familiarizing you with their personalized products, here, and their personalized jewelry in particular, here. I like the map coasters above. Made of cork and marble, they can be customized for any location you want to remember. Or, for the beach-lovers among us, a silver beach sand pendant. Made of silver, with sand from all the beaches listed here. Alternatively, send the artist sand from anywhere you choose.

Beach Necklace from Uncommon Goods

As I browsed the site I also (because that’s where my mind is these days) found more than a few items that I’d like for my house. Or a house of the future. Or a house I never own but imagine over and over again.

 

Untitled #191

You guys, those are glass balloons. GLASS BALLOONS. They remind me of my mother’s Murano glass candies, only more outrageous. Would you hang them permanently? Or might they become the family birthday symbol, complete with fights over who got the purple one for special? I would have stored all the toys in those baskets, back when I had littles. Oh so much primary colored plastic bit to step on.

Sorting through my resolutions for this year, here, I told you I wanted to do good and sell my clothes on eBay. At the time, I assumed that would mean volunteering and, well, eBay. In that comment thread, one of you asked, “If you want to do good, why not just donate the clothes?” In other words, “Why create extra activities to support our values?  Why not just covet objects from companies with heart?”

Very good question. I think I owe you guys a glass balloon or two, and Uncommon Goods a thanks for sponsoring a post that educated and entertained me in equal measure.

28 Responses

  1. Love the pendants too. I’ve kind of liked Uncommon Goods for a while, but never looked into what that B corp stuff meant. Now I know that several companies I patronize are also B corps and that is really cool. Thank you for showing me something new (to me) that also makes me smile.

  2. I love Uncommon Goods! And now I know a little about B corps. We only do good accidentally around here – this is great stuff!

  3. I like the idea of the map coasters–especially if they could be personalized to focus on our farmland.

  4. Oh how I love Uncommon Goods – when my teens and I moved from our large house to this townhouse 6y ago, we commemorated it with this crazy garden piece of monsters toting off a garden gnome. Their work is witty, relatively unique, and now that I know what their mission is, I will double down and consider them in my top tier when gift-giving. Thanks for the information about B-companies; I learn something new from you so often!

  5. I’ve never heard of either B Corporations or B Corp, however the secret-communist in me believes the world would be so much fairer if all companies chose to be one (or the other, or both).

    Some people rise to the top on their own, while others needs support and assistance to reach their peak, but I don’t see either extreme as “less” than the other. When there are so many people in the world who may need a hand up, it is wonderful to hear of corporations (and governments) choosing to assist, rather than knocking them down (looking at you current Australian government).

    I will be following up whether something similar exists in Australia.

  6. Have you read Founding Gardeners? Ironically, written by an English woman.

    Describing the American personality as formed by agrarian principles, and of course the stoics.

    Eco, Sustainable, Organic? Having to ‘use’ those terms horrifies. Aside from being too small, even in total. Have created that trinity for decades, and so much more.

    Delicious how you describe yourself, and family. Piquant.

    Oh the link. I did the 1st click, then no time to download, then discovered via readers it was charging people. On principle, don’t do it !!!

    Will change the post this morning.

    Have a lovely Friday & weekend.

    Garden & Be Well, XO T

  7. B Corps – very interesting, and like others, I’ve never heard of it. Will give the website a good look. Thanks for the introduction. I love the plywood chandelier.

  8. there was an excellent piece on b corps in the new yorker a couple of months ago as well. their commitments are more than a right to try for social good: it’s actually built into their DNA, and they suffer significant penalties if they neglect it.

    There are now more than a thousand B corps in the U.S., including Patagonia, Etsy, and Seventh Generation. And in the past four years twenty-seven states have passed laws allowing companies to incorporate themselves as “benefit corporations”—which are similar to B corps but not identical. The commitments that these companies are making aren’t just rhetorical. Whereas a regular business can abandon altruistic policies when times get tough, a benefit corporation can’t. Shareholders can sue its directors for not carrying out the company’s social mission, just as they can sue directors of traditional companies for violating their fiduciary duty.

    amazing. and deeply inspiring.

  9. Another easy and flexible alternative to selling your clothing overflow on eBay or straight out donating is the website ThredUP. They send you a sturdy bag, you put in the clothing, shoes, handbags you want to sell and send it back – they pick up postage costs.

    They sort it and what they can sell goes up on their site (has to be in very good condition). I believe that what they can’t sell (too worn, wrong brand, etc) gets donated to a textile recycler.

    They pay you direct for your items that they list under $40; over $40 you get paid when the item sells (and at a higher percentage). You can arrange for the proceeds to go to charity or back to you, which you can then spend on their site or cash out.

    I’ve been using the site a lot for the past 8 months and while I have a few minor complaints, for the most part I’m in the love with the whole process. And when I have had any issues (all minor), their customer service people have been absolutely terrific. The items I’ve sent in that they bought have all sold very fast and I’ve been happy with the payouts.

    I know there are disgruntled reviews of the company floating around the web, but I think they are from the company’s early days when they were working the bugs out of their system. Luckily I didn’t read any until I’d been using the site myself and was already smitten. If I’d read beforehand I never would have tried them and I would have missed out on an easy way to recycle my unwanted but lovely clothing (and a great way to nab some crazy good bargains too! Yesterday I got a Lafayette148 pinstripe blazer, new with tags showing $450 original price. I paid ThredUP $49 for it. :-)

  10. WOW! Those balloons. I really, really, really, think I have to get them. I host an annual birthday party for my entire extended family (and anybody else who has a birthday) and those look like they are custom-made for it. Though I do wonder where/how I’d store them the other 360+ days of the year. B corps–a very exciting idea

  11. Wow, i’m kind of obsessed with that pi bowl. It’s the perfect gift for my former MIT nerd friends! Thanks for sharing :3

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