Thread by @PirateOrg

Today’s #coronavirus brainstorming:

#CSR as “Customer Social Responsibility”

Some preliminary thoughts

*** THREAD ***

Our world has become a single interconnected system

There is nothing “outside” it anymore

Every step we take affects the rest of the system

CSR typically means “corporate social responsibility”

> the idea that businesses have responsibility not just toward their investors but also toward every other part of the interconnected system in which they're embedded

employees, suppliers, customers, the natural environment

The current #coronavirus crisis calls for this logic to be pushed one step farther

Businesses all over the world are now going bankrupt due to (necessary) lockdowns

Customers cannot spend money on them anymore and many businesses won’t survive that for very long

But we are part of a #system

A business that goes bankrupt means

people laid off and people moving away
taxes not going to the government
goods not produced, socialization disrupted

your community missing something that used to give it a soul

Governments must act to support businesses and they have started already

But can they really bailout the entire economy?
Should we just wait and see?

every part of the system can play a role starting #now

#CustomerSocialResponsibility

Customers have a responsibility to act as well

the local coffeehouse you used to visit each day needs you
that restaurant you went to often? same
the hairdresser who’s been cutting your hair for years? yup

There are steps we can take to promote customer social responsibility

And preserve the social fabric of our communities beyond the mere production of goods

Reach out to those small businesses that you love and on which you depend!

Here’s an interesting initiative where I live in London Ontario: supportlondonbusinesses.com

> people buy gift cards now to spend later at local businesses, giving them today the income they need to stay afloat and help their staff when they need it most

For smaller entrepreneurs you see regularly like barbers, hairdressers, spa owners, massage therapists…

… reach out to them #now & offer to pay in advance for the next 3-5 appointments

If a small proportion of their loyal customers do this, they will stay in business

Not everybody can afford to do this

some, like me, have the privilege of having a guaranteed monthly income

and these days I am spending less than usual at local businesses due to the lockdown

I could keep spending the same for a couple of months and buy “future services”

#CustomerSocialResponsibility could mean all sorts of other things

but right now, a zero-interest loan backed by the trust that your local business will keep operating in the future is a good place to start

(if you have a guaranteed income...the cost of this is ~$0 for you)

Your local businesses may have to set up a webpage to process gift cards

Companies like @Shopify @Square @GiftUpApp can all help with that

for direct payments look at @venmo @paypal and of course cryptocurrency wallets

Reach out to your local businesses!!

**/ LA FIN

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