13/10/09
Don't Just Shop, Shop To Benefit
A new beauty website aimed at image-conscious shoppers who want to be fabulous inside and out looks set to start a trend in ‘giving while receiving' when it launches this month (12 October).
Unique among online beauty sites, shoptobenefit.co.uk, an ethical online retailer selling professional hair and beauty products, will give 5% of the price paid to a host of UK charities. The new site aims to shake up the world of online beauty selling with its fresh, modern approach to ethical shopping at a time when buyers are looking to make purchases that give them the most value for their money.
It has been said that the recession will change the country forever and shoppers will continue to be more considered in their future spending. However, while most people feel it is right to give to charity, when money is tight many charities do suffer. Thanks to shoptobenefit.co.uk, shoppers can buy their favourite beauty brands and give to charity at the same time - at no extra cost to themselves.
Appealing to savvy shoppers - from busy career women to yummy mummies - the site sells leading hair and beauty brands such as Clarins, Dermalogica, Paul Mitchell, GHD and Redken plus fragrances from all the major brands at recommended retail price and under. Closely linked with a five star hair & beauty salon, professional advice with every purchase is offered from highly trained personnel and new products will be added weekly. There are also a wealth of gift sets and packaging options available to shoppers for those special occasions.
Brits spend £15 million a year on looking good, and it has been estimated that the average woman spends £385 on beauty products each year*. If those products were purchased on shoptobenefit.co.uk it would equate to a £19.25 annual charity donation per person, with no actual cost to the consumer and thousands of pounds of extra revenue for UK charities.
Shoppers on the site can choose from four charity sectors they would like their purchases to benefit; Cancer Care, Environment, Children's Health & Community Support. The money is allocated to the nominated charity sector at the end of the month and customers are kept informed of totals and beneficiaries via the website, which will also show them their personal contribution total.
In addition to donating 5% of every purchase to charity, shoptobenefit stocks a number of charity specific products which contribute even more money to charity; The GHD Pretty in Pink Limited Edition Straightening Irons donate an additional £10 to Breakthrough Breast Cancer, a portion of the sales of all Paul Mitchell Tea Tree products fund American Forests' Global ReLeaf and Wildfire ReLeaf programs to preserve natural resources throughout the world and Thermodynamics Pink Products donate an additional £1 to Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Shoptobenefit hopes that these products will be best sellers on the site and aim to extend their product offering in this direction.
Shoptobenefit is the concept of Welsh entrepreneur Leanne Abraham. Leanne commented; "I have wanted to branch into online retailing for many years but my three young boys and existing businesses did not afford me the time, or extra motivation to put large amounts of my products online. When I had the idea to donate online profits to charity my passion for the project immediately grew and my enthusiasm ever since has been endless.
Many people's lives are now unfortunately touched by cancer and I have always avidly supported Children's health charities. My site gives people the chance to positively affect the lives of others through doing something as simple as buying a bottle of their favourite shampoo."
