In the design world, people typically make things to sell, to solve problems, or as artistic expression. Not too often are there goods being made with a specific charitable purpose in mind, nor is it very frequently that I come across goods that were actually made from charitable efforts for charitable efforts.

Seattle-based Material Good is a small company that gives back in a big way. Founder Lauren Burman created the company as an homage to her late grandmother whom she lost to cancer. She trained for a marathon to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and for each donation she received, she decided to give a gift in return--a small vase. She dubbed the vase "Little Shirley," after her grandmother. She noticed that these vases began to symbolize the donors' own personal stories of survival and loss. It was then, after she completed her marathon, that she decided to start making them available to the public in a new effort to support her cause.

Lauren donates 10% of the profits from the sale of each Little Shirley vase, which come in just about every color of the rainbow and then some. She hopes to expand the variety of causes she works with as the business grows. She explains, "Our vision is to create an accessible pathway for consumers to make meaningful change in their community. By providing handmade pieces of ceramic art that benefit local change-making organizations, we hope to create a two-way exchange of giving."

Lauren's pay-it-forward attitude and her "for good" mentality is most certainly Character Approved. Bravo!

[Image: Material Good]