CSR Partner Good World Solutions Wins Social Entrepreneurship Award

One of the nonprofits we support through our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, Good World Solutions, has won a Gratitude Award for its innovative Labor Link mobile platform.

LaborLink uses mobile technology to give a voice to global factory workers and farmers, and delivers real-time data to companies like Cisco and Patagonia to align sourcing practices with worker needs.

For example, companies can use Labor Link to give workers valuable information on health, financial literacy, and education. Workers can use it to report anonymously on working conditions and job satisfaction directly to decision-makers at distant companies that buy the products they make.

In India, Labor Link is being used to measure the effectiveness of financial literacy training at 11 garment and footwear factories

Beginning in 2010, Cisco grant support helped Good World Solutions design, implement, and scale Labor Link. In 2012, Labor Link was pilot tested with workers at one of Cisco’s suppliers, enabling us to hear directly from workers about worker-management communication, and the needs of both workers and their communities.  Interest in the platform has exploded — usage has grown from 100 sweater artisans in 2010 to 95,000 farmers and factory workers in 2014.

Vodafone and Accenture estimate that by 2020, this type of mobile worker communication could boost livelihoods by $2.1 billion annually and benefit 18 million workers.

Gratitude Awards honor social entrepreneurs who have created ground-breaking innovation in education, poverty alleviation, health, environment, community sustainment and other areas. Good World Solutions was one of only 4 winners chosen from 500 applicants worldwide and will receive a year of mentoring from the Gratitude Network.

Congratulations to Good World Solutions Director Heather Franzese and the entire Good World Solutions team!

Learn more about our support of Good World Solutions and other social enterprises that promote economic empowerment.