Why crowdfund rather than selling our products online?

It took a few years in the e-commerce space to recognize we can't make that approach square with our zero-waste ethos, or our vision of responsible/ethical capitalism.
Producing high quality, small batch, made in the U.S., zero-waste products requires significant up-front investment. Once we begin accruing these costs, we're forced to invest heavily in social media advertising to market and sell our products as quickly as possible. This type of advertising is expensive and insidious - once you start, you can't stop, and to make it effective, it requires marketing tactics that feel manipulative and out of alignment with our principles (Buy More Save More!! 🤮 Special Sale Ends Today! - how is this reducing wasteful products/practices?).
On top of marketing and advertising, there is the cost and carbon footprint of freighting our products to a fulfillment center that can then store, pack, and ship orders 100% plastic-free, on demand. In the end, we were playing a zero-sum (or worse) numbers game , which is why we are turning to seasonal crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding will ensure every product produced has a home before it is made. By securing funds for production ahead of time, we can manage the required material deposits and manufacturing costs without loans, and without gambling on the variable effectiveness of advertising.

Thank you so much for being part of this effort to reduce waste, and to build a community to support an alternative to mass-marketing and mindless consumerism, in favor of small businesses making products of integrity in the United States.
Heather + Nikki
founders | waste fanatics
Wisdom Supply