The Clean Collective is seeking to capitalise on people’s searches for truth, realisation our consumption habits are harmful and subsequent shift of purchasing behaviour.

It was founded in March 2016 by Charlie Thompson and Georgia Lawson and it currently operates an online store selling eco-friendly products and an eco-healthy living blog.

But the company is raising $1.7 million to take itself to the next level. In a webinar which Stockhead attended yesterday, Thompson said the company was seeking to capitalise on people realising our planet could not cope with current purchasing behaviours.

“We were born from people searching for the truth,” she said. “The conscious economy is meeting the online economy. We want the Clean Collective to be at the front of the vision.

“Our current consumption planets are killing us and our planet. It’s not just transport and agriculture, it’s things we come into contact with every day through to disposable coffee cups and plastic bags.

“1 in 4 health disorders can now be attributed to chemicals we come into contact with. 70% of cancer is under our control – what we put in and around our bodies.”

She even noted the average baby born had an average of 200 chemicals in their umbilical cords – which is why aspiring or expectant mothers were one of Clean Collective’s primary demographics.

But not all changes in society have been a bad thing – at least for her business. She noted new business models like Spotify and Airbnb now show we expect experiences, constant improvement and “anytime anywhere access”.

These evolutions have inspired her plans for the next stage of the company’s life.

The next level

The Clean Collective is raising $1.7 million through Equitise which will evolve the Collective from a retail marketplace into an experience market place.

The eco-friendly shop will continue. It has been trading for 20 months and attracted 400,000 viewers and made $600,000 on 10,000 sales. It boasts 500 industry and brand partners.

But its guidance for people will go beyond its blog and it will monetise its own ethical standard via an app utilising barcode scanning technology.

Yet even its blog will evolve and become an e-course personal development hub, operating under a subscription model.

“Imagine this: A single digital experience whereby all of this is available on demand at the click of a button. The subscriptions will allow us to scale our e-commerce dramatically,” said Thompson.

A more immediate impact

A challenge with ethical crowdfunding is it can be high risk and take many years to see a return. But investors have been promised they will see rewards sooner.

The company has promised if it hits maximum subscription numbers it will plant 12,500 trees and remove 37,500 pieces of plastic pollution from the ocean. Each $120 will see one tree planted and three pieces of plastic pollution removed.

You will also get a discount off all orders for 12 months, from 5 per cent at $120 up to 20 per cent if you invest at least $1,200.

All businesses that undertake equity crowdfunding boast that everyday people can get involved in them. But Thompson regards this equity crowdfunding exercise as akin to joining a community.

“We really feel passionately about the fact that we’re a community and we’ve always communicated with them,” said Thompson. “The community drives the business so we really wanted to give them the first chance to buy into this. So this is first chance, first dibs for the equity that’s available.

“This business is going to drive millions of dollars but save millions of life. Economic and impact engine – it does both and we’re really looking forward to inviting people onboard.”

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