User:Hannahmy/sandbox

1:Face is a company founded by Faraz ‘Fam’ Mirza that produces and sells watches. It is based in Lombard, Illinois. The company produces a total of eight watches, each a different color. The color represents an important cause. The money from the purchases of the watches goes to specific research groups that the 1:Face supports. The company’s LinkedIn profile calls their product, “a fashion accessory with a humanitarian heart.”

About Mirza
Fam Mirza was born in Qatar to an Arab-Egyptian father and an Indian mother. He was raised in 5 different countries. His travels have led him to the creation of 1:Face. He is fluent in four languages—English, Arabic, Hindi, and Farsi.

Company History
Mirza’s rise to fame began when he was fifteen years old at the 2001 Super Bowl. He was raised in 5 different countries. He and a friend had the idea of a split jersey that was sported by the rapper Nelly during the halftime show. Later, he was introduced to entrepreneur Diddy. He continued to work with celebrities on their projects that managed to become huge success stories. After that, he decided to embark on his own journey by using the profit from the half-split jersey to invest in the next project, and using those proceeds to fund the next project, and so on. As time went on through all of this, he gradually gained more people to these projects and soon they were called Mirza Minds. Mirza Minds is a “fourteen person creative agency with team members from across the globe who have worked alongside him [Mirza] for the last eight years .” The company is continuing to expand. The company originated with the idea that “one person can change the world .” According to Meg Abebe of Michigan State University’s (MSU) The Big Green, Mirza’s goal of this product is to create a “specific brand strategy” to help those who are less fortunate. The idea of the 1:Face watch came to Mirza when he experienced a third world country first hand. Mirza said “fifty percent of the world lives under $2.50 a day” and some of it can be resolved from the 1:Face project. The creation of this company is relatively new therefore there is not much information on 1:Face.

Product Information
Each watch has a square face and a different colored band that supports a specific cause. Each watch has four, silver buttons (two on the left side and two on the right). According to Dave LeClair, from Gizmag magazine, the face has a “mirrored finish” that displays the time with a push of a button. The time and date are shown by the use of white LED lights. Only one button is required to function the watch while the other three buttons are to create a symmetrical look. 1:Face also sells a touchscreen watch. It has a black band with silver edging around the face of the watch. A portion of the purchase is split so that it supports all of the causes.

Charities
When purchasing a 1:Face watch, a portion of the money is given to a charity that the company supports. The color of the watch is coordinated with the non-profit organization. Below is a list of the charities and the colors.

The American Cancer Society  (represented by the black watch) is an organization that “is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem.” It promotes the fight against all cancer and has been fighting against cancer for over one hundred years. They support popular fundraising events such as “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” and “Relay for Life” to raise money for their cause.

One Day’s Wages'  (represented by the white watch) goal is to “work toward a more just and compassionate world” by alleviating extreme global poverty. They do this by investing all of the donations into organization-run projects that help fight poverty. People can identify projects that are already working on fighting poverty and report them to One Day’s Wages. One Day’s Wages will then use online donations to give to those projects.

Keep a Child Alive  (represented by the red watch) is an organization founded by Leigh Blake and Alicia Keys to help end the spread of AIDS. This is done by obtaining results from community-based organizations.

Gram Vikas  (represented by the white watch with yellow trim around the face) translates to “village development.” It is an organization that works with communities around India and Africa to address the needs of education, health, safe drinking water, sanitation, and alternate sources of sustainable energy that is socially inclusive, gender equitable and empowering.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation  (represented by the pink watch) is an organization that provides mammograms to women in hopes of minimizing the number of cases of breast cancer and provides those who have it with support services.

Pencils of Promise  (represented by the yellow watch) is an organization that uses donations to build quality schools, train teachers, and provide students with scholarships.

The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  (represented by the orange watch) is an organization where people come together “to protect and enhance the quality of life for domestic, farm, and wild animals in British Columbia.” Most of the time, people become members of the SPCA and pay an annual fee. That money is used to stop the cruelty of animals in British Columbia.

The Adventure Project  (represented by the blue watch) is a charity that focuses on the success of businesses in order to better the economy. Using donations, they hire local people to become entrepreneurs in beginning countries and areas that don’t have the funds to do so. By doing this, more jobs are created in that area.

According to the company’s website, over nine hundred and forty-seven thousand lives have been changed already. The following table includes what the purchase of (a) watch(es) will provide.

Reception
1:Face has been receiving mixed emotions about its products from many consumers. A study at Michigan State University shows one student thinking the product looks strange, but another thinks that their strangeness is what makes them unique. According to Abebe from Michigan State University (MSU), this company’s product has not become popular yet because there is no way to tell if the money is going toward the various charities that the 1:Face says it supports. According to Bonnie Knutson, a professor at MSU, the 1:Face company is marketing toward the wrong age group; this simplistic design looks more like something a teenager should wear and teens don’t have money to “throw .” Knutson also says that 1:Face doesn’t have the history that a big organization like the Red Cross has and she would rather donate to the Red Cross knowing that all of her money would be going toward helping a person. According to 1:Face, “Each watch comes with a metric which is carried out with the purchase of the watch. Not only is this the best way to quantify change, but it is entirely transparent .” This means that not every color has the same percent of donation to the charity being supported. There is a specific percent of the proceeds for red watches that is donated to that charity, as is with the other colors. This is why one watch of a certain color may support eight people whereas another watch may need to be purchased eight times just to support one person.

To some people, the purchase of one of these watches may be pointless because one watch does not cover for something one person. For example, in order for a woman to receive a free mammogram, nine pink watches would have to be purchased. In other cases, one red watch provides AIDs treatment for eight people and one white watch provides food for ten people. Consumers could decide to go with what color they prefer, but possibly not really benefit anyone without the purchase of additional watches. To compound the issue, the consumer could be fond of a particular color or cause without also enjoying the attached color or cause.

Some may buy the watch out of the kindness of their heart. 1:Face’s LinkedIn thinks that consumers will buy the product not only to benefit themselves, but to benefit others as well.