Loop & Tie’s dedication to gifting that gives back through Invitational Commerce

As the Founder and CEO of Loop & Tie, I was motivated to build this company based on how commerce and displaying appreciation could be a force for positively impacting our communities and planet.

From the beginning, our team has spent a lot of time considering not just what we sell, but how and why we sell. We asked ourselves: What other companies succeed when we grow? What is our environmental impact? What are our employees’ lives like?

At our core, everything we do is focused on influencing three key areas of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social impact.

We see commerce as this amazing system where businesses and buyers get to make thoughtful choices about what they want to see exist in the world.

We are interested in company-building as a way to explore what’s possible for commerce as a key element of creating happier, healthier lives for all of us. We call this way of being, Invitational Commerce. 

Invitational Commerce differs from the status quo in one key way: how we think about sales. The status quo, as it relates to commerce, is all about getting as many sales as possible, at any cost, typically using a narrative that convinces you to make a purchase based on fear of what will happen if you don’t.

Our company looks at sales differently. We definitely want you to buy gifts from us to help us to continue to exist and innovate in the commercial system, but we don’t want to convince you of anything. Instead we want to spend our energy building a brand that we’re proud of. We want to make sure everyone can discover who we are and what we do, and then we leave it to the world to decide if they want to support us as we continue to build a business focused on making an impact.

This approach wonders what’s possible when both buyers and sellers understand and respect the power they have to influence business operations and impact. When companies grow, there’s a ripple effect to be considered. In the practice of Invitational Commerce, buyers and sellers need to consider whether their choices are constructive or destructive – let’s use Loop & Tie as an example.

We believe the tide that raises our company can also support the growth of other companies that are also building from a spirit of possibility. For us, it all comes down to being balanced and intentional with what we’re receiving and what we’re giving. 

• We think about the amount of environmental resources that are needed to help us sell gifts. We consider how we can balance what we’re getting – things like cardboard, packing materials, and shipping resources – and how we can replenish and respect those resources. 
• We make investments in regenerative agriculture for every gift shipped, through another mission-aligned company, Dollar Donation Club. It’s important for us to not just put trees in the ground, but make sure when we’re making investments they have long-term, sustaining effects. 
• We consider the missions of the product creators in our marketplace. We see an incredible opportunity to use our marketplace as a way to democratize access to corporate gifting budgets for underrepresented founders and businesses.

When this ripple effect is considered, buyers can recognize the power they have in voting with their dollars. Sellers can recognize the power they have in the messaging they use to attract sales.

We know the concept of Invitational Commerce will be enriched by collaborating with others.  Our intention is to act as hosts and invite others into the conversation. We don’t want to do the thing we just talked about, which is trying to convince you this is an awesome idea. That’s up to you to decide! We hope Invitational Commerce will help continually elevate what’s possible with sales and corporate behavior in stewarding a more sustainable economic system.

– Sara Rodell, Founder & CEO