In business, there are moments that test not just your resilience, your values, and principles you promised to stand by, even when things got tough. For us at Common, staying true to what we believe in has never been about convenience; it’s about commitment.
Jason, founder of Common shares his reflection on how inspiration, integrity, and community continue to shape our direction, specifically through our ongoing partnership with 1% for the Planet and InKind Direct.
What inspires us the most I like to think, helps keep a light burning even when we face our biggest challenges.
For me, being able to remind myself of what’s possible and what inspired me to start this business in the first place, is something I return to whenever motivation feels low.
It’s been some time since I last wrote a blog. Like many good intentions, sometimes life gets in the way, deadlines mount, opportunities keep presenting themselves, and those well-intended routines can slip. Writing these blogs has always been as much an outlet for me, a moment of reflection. As it has been about giving others a glimpse into Common. I’ll return to this year’s theme of vulnerability soon, but for now, I want to share a little about our 1% journey.
When we first started Common, I had just finished Let My People Go Surfing by Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard. It was through his work that I discovered 1% for the Planet, a simple yet powerful concept where a business donates 1% of its revenue (yes, revenue) to social or environmental causes. From day one, I believed this was something we could and should build into our business. And so, off we went. In the first couple of years, with turnover still low, the membership fee alone was enough to cover our required giving.
But as in all things business, reality set in. Donating 1% of revenue at the end of a fiscal year when you’ve made a loss. As we did in years three to five. This can be a hard principle to uphold. There were times when Common was on the brink, when serious questions about our survival were being asked. Naturally, the question of our 1% membership arose. How strong are your values when they’re tested against the very survival of your business?
For me, the answer was clear enough: we pushed forward. I decided if we were going to commit to 1%, we needed to do more than simply pay our dues, we needed to get involved. In 2023, I attended our first annual 1% meeting in London, where I connected with Thalen and the team at InKind Direct. The beauty of the 1% community lies in its diversity and reach. InKind works to deliver food and essential goods to people in need, and it turned out coffee was in high demand.
We’re now preparing our biggest contribution to date, over 14,000 cups of coffee to be distributed through InKind’s network. This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of their team. It’s not always easy to see the impact of actions like these, but working alongside organisations like InKind gives us a window into how these efforts are received and why they matter.
InKind’s commitment to social care and environmental health through waste reduction aligns closely with our own mission: to deliver extraordinary coffee experiences that empower those who believe in a brighter, healthier future. And that belief, for us, must extend to all communities.
Great communities have always been built from the ground up by passionate individuals who continually strive for a better tomorrow. So hats off to the team at InKind, and to 1% for the Planet, for helping to connect us and for reminding us why we do what we do.
