You might be familiar with internet duo (and world’s most wholesome siblings) Hank and John Green from their viral TikToks, vlogbrothers YouTube channel, or best-selling books.
However, they’re also astute social entrepreneurs.
The pair has been engaged in charitable endeavors for years, including their annual Project For Awesome and Pizzamas digital fundraisers, as well as their work in partnership with Partners in Health to build the Maternal Center of Excellence.
This center, which broke ground in April of 2021, will drastically improve health outcomes for maternal and childhood health in Sierra Leone (the country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world).
To support this work, the brothers Green have launched a number of product lines that are simple and straight-to-the-point, answering a question John recently tweeted: “What if you could buy all the stuff you regularly need, and be guaranteed quality, with 100% of all the profits going to charity?”
They started with the Awesome Socks Club (selling socks designed by independent artists), Awesome Coffee Club (selling coffee grown in sustainable and ethical farms in Colombia), and Sun Basin Soap (selling soap handmade right in Hank’s hometown of Missoula, Montana).
All donate 100% of their profits to reducing maternal and childhood mortality in Sierra Leone.
Now, all three of these endeavors are housed under one roof: Good.Store.
What is the Good.Store?
Good.Store offers all of the products beloved under the Sun Basin Soap, Awesome Socks Club, and Awesome Coffee Club umbrellas through one-time purchase or subscribe-and-save models. This allows shoppers to combine brands in one purchase or subscription, reducing shipping costs and emissions, all while still doing good.
Hence the name.
Other adjacent items and accessories (such as a soap saver made from poplar wood, or a lovely V60 Pour Over for one’s decidedly awesome coffee) are available to purchase, too.
“We believe the things you love and need can enrich not just your life but also our shared world,” the Good.Store website reads.
“Hank and John Green have been making stuff for people for a long time, but after working with their community and organizations like Partners in Health to help people who need the most help, they found themselves more energized by that work than by profit.”
Good.Store quietly launched last week, unifying fan-favorite items under one brand.
“It’s time to subscribe to the good life!” the Good.Store Twitter account posted. “We’re ready to help you find the good stuff while making sure the world gets better along the way.”
This exciting merge might not come as a surprise to Nerdfighters (the name of Hank & John’s online community of fans), who may remember a tweet from Hank back in October 2020:
“Might f*ck around and take on Amazon,” he wrote. “Also, might not. Give me a decade and check back.”
It only took three years, but as Hank says, Good.Store represents “one step at a time.”
Hank and John have noteworthy experience and existing infrastructure in the e-commerce business. The duo have run DFTBA out of Missoula, Montana since 2008. DFTBA is an online platform and physical warehouse and fulfillment center that helps internet creators make and sell merch to fan communities. The DFTBA website lists 41 employees on its Meet Our Team page.
While Good.Store is a bit too young to entirely become an Amazon alternative, it certainly makes us hopeful for a future where our intentional purchases can have a real impact on people in need.
“This is the future!” John tweeted. “Amazing work, everyone!”
