The Ordinary is joining forces with The Solutions Project to promote sustainability by supporting marginalized groups who are charting the way toward climate justice.
From Nov. 15 through Nov. 21, the Canadian skin care brand will donate 1 percent of sales to the environmentalist advocacy group, which was founded by actor Mark Ruffalo alongside Mark Jacobson and Marco Krapels in 2013, and funds BIPOC-led grassroots organizations on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
“Climate change is everyone’s problem — you can’t just look at what you do internally,” said Jackie Kankam, director of sustainability and social impact at The Ordinary’s parent company, Deciem, adding that while the brand harnesses renewable energy and is carbon neutral certified, it recognizes that the work does not stop there.
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“We looked to The Solutions Project because we wanted to do something in the U.S., and they work with grassroots organizations, which is really important to us, because we started off small and scrappy,” Kankam continued.
The partnership is an accompaniment to The Ordinary’s annual Slowvember initiative, in which the brand ceases online and in-store direct-to-consumer transactions on Black Friday and instead offers a 23 percent discount through November leading up to the day.
“November is all about ‘buy, buy, buy,’ and if you look at hyper-consumerism and Black Friday, those just aren’t sustainable. With our monthlong discount, we want people to stop, pause and only buy what they need,” Kankam said.
The Ordinary will donate a minimum of $100,000 in Canadian dollars to The Solutions Project, which will distribute the funds to grantees across the country.
The Ordinary is also releasing a short, documentary-style film highlighting how the adverse effects of climate change disproportionately impact indigenous and marginalized communities.
Filmed over the course of five days in Labrador, Canada, the film features an Indigenous mother who describes how the climate crisis and rising energy costs have negatively impacted her, both as a caretaker and an individual, with the aim of educating consumers about the oft-overlooked consequences of climate change.