Placing Catastrophe Comfort In A New Light: Empowered Sun Lanterns Provide A Sustainable Source Of Safety And Connection.

One precept—the choice to find work with a cause—has guided john Salinger on his winding professional path thru a selection of jobs, from marketing to amusement and others in among.

Sooner or later, he observed his activity with that means, inspired to shine a mild and provide a sense of protection for people around the arena via solar lanterns. In launching empowered in 2012 after witnessing the devastating results of an earthquake on people in Haiti, Salinger commenced an enterprise that created a profit and served a social and environmental cause.

“it aligned with the values that have been ingrained by way of my parents: humans and planet; anyone became equal,” he says. “you watch enough documentaries, you study enough articles and books, you understand that we’re destroying what we have. With what’s been going on with weather change, this turned into a perfect possibility to trade the world for the higher and use business to accomplish that.”

Through connecting with NGOs around the sector, empowered is capable of providing sun-powered lanterns to victims of natural failures. Together with the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquake, and to individuals who live with unreliable sources of strength without getting right of entry to to a grid and usually depend on kerosene and other harmful substances for mild. Salzinger says the experience of safety that light offers is priceless and conventional, which fuels the employer’s donation software.

Via its product line—lanterns, string lighting, its new motorcycle mild, and more—empowered customers to assist others through their purchases and feature the option to add $10 for a donated lantern to their order. “if a consumer buys a mild, they’ve already contributed. So there’s not a heavy carry,” he says.

In talking with Salinger lately as a part of my studies on purpose-driven businesses, he advised me that empowered has broadened the scope of its donation program via partnerships with company partners, giving corporations a corporate social responsibility (CSR) alternative that has proven to be well-obtained with the aid of sustainability-minded personnel.

“We are a turnkey answer whereby a light can visit your purchasers as a value upload, or for your employees for engagement or gifting and, frankly, any other light to our program,” he says. “while a herbal disaster takes place, our lighting fixtures cross there. So it’s a manner to present, but it’s sustainable.”

Mpowerd’s Luci merchandise sits on the shelves at big-name shops consisting of rei, goal, and a good buy, and are to be had online. The margins those merchandise command at retail enable backed and localized pricing into impact situations around the world.

The solar lighting fixtures and cellular chargers are designed with functionality and safety in thoughts, Salinger says, noting that the concept of self-empowerment stimulated the business enterprise’s call.