Chris Jensen

We are organising the first ever design jam (or hackathon) focused on ethical shopping. While many people have a sense that companies are not always doing the right thing, few people actively seek out and act on the information. We need help from the same people that make online media so fun and exciting to engage with. We want to bring together web designers, game makers, and other digital media experts, to make ethical shopping a more fun and engaging experience.

Over two days we will work together to generate and prototype breakthrough ideas on how we can make it simpler and more exciting for consumers to support companies that are doing the right thing: the right thing by their employees, by communities and by the environment, and promoting, supporting and lobbying for those things.



What is Ethical Shopping?
The idea of ethical shopping has been around for some time -- the idea that every dollar you spend is a vote for the world you want to live in. This is now more important than ever; humanity will soon face some serious issues that need solving now. These include climate change, poverty and social justice. 
We believe that companies have the capacity to fuel this change, and you as a consumer can help them. Companies are among the largest economies in the world, larger even than some first world countries. However, they ultimately answer first to their customers: if we want them to care for their employees, communities, and our Earth, we ourselves must shop with consideration. The impact of our shopping should come first, not simply convenience and desire. 


This is about more than just providing information and making people feel guilty; we need to inspire people. We hope to make sharing and incorporating these issues a joyful part of your character and identity.   

Why a Design Jam?

Digital and social media have proven to be hugely powerful platforms that have changed the way we live. Just ten years ago, who would've imagined that we'd be using our phones to check for "likes" on our status updates? It's high time we applied these amazing technologies to make the most impact on the issues we care about. 

This is why we're bringing together digital designers, gamification experts, media artists to find innovative ways in engaging people to become conscious consumers. The power of social media and design could change conscious consumption as we see it today. The sky's the limit.



World's First? Really?
Yes, really! We were surprised too. Consumption is such a huge part of our daily lives we thought surely we can't be the first to organise a hackathon or design jam focused specifically on conscious consumption, but so far we can't find anyone else.
If you know of someone else who's done it,  let us know, we'd love to get in touch with them.


Why Crowdfunding? 
Growing within Ground-Up Initiative, we've come to realise the importance of community, and how crucial it is to build areal community: creating space for people to work together, and share in the fun, joy and effort that everyone contributes.

That's why we're crowdfunding – crowdfunding isn't just about getting money, it's about finding people like you who are excited about creating a better world, to be able to share our journey with you, and to give you ways to be a part of the change.

We hope you'll join us in this journey to redesign the way we buy.

The key challenge for this event is drawing capable, excited designers willing to sink their teeth into a challenge. We're in talks to bring some exciting people to conduct workshops during the event to impart skills and attract like minds to sink their teeth into this challenge.