While many companies discuss corporate social responsibility, few act on the words they put out. Cannabis companies have learned from their users that to connect with a brand, consumers need more than flashy imagery; they need to see their values mirrored. 2021 saw brands shift their focus in order to address various different social issues while supporting grassroots movements across North America. ADCANN is proud to present the finalist for the Social Good Campaign of the Year.
The winners are selected by votes from the ADCANN community – who do you want to see win?
Pride Campaign – Sundial
Cannabis & Queer history have long since intersected through the Compassion movements of the 90’s.
In the summer of 2021, Sundial launched its Pride campaign in order to support a variety of LGBTTTQT2S+ organizations across Canada through the launch of their PRIDE CCELL 510 Vape Power Supply which popped up at dispensaries across the country.
Reaffirming their commitment to a culture of inclusivity, they began working with the Calgary Queers Arts Society – a group focusing on allyship, education, and training across Alberta. Sundial also released a variety of queer-focused content across their website and social media.
Summer Capsule for Cannabis Amnesty – 1922 x Ace Valley
While cannabis is now legal across Canada, many Canadians – predominantly POC – are still in jail for non-violent cannabis offenses that predate our federal legalization of the plant. In order to address this inequity, Ace Valley (now owned by Canopy Growth) partnered with the independently owned cannabis retailer, 1922, to address the stigma associated with cannabis whilst addressing those who were left behind during legalization.
Through launching a line of summer wear, both brands committed to donating 100% of proceeds to Cannabis Amnesty – a group working to free those who are still wrongfully imprisoned.
Women in High Demand – Dutch Love
While many regard cannabis as still being a “Boy’s Club”, Canadian retailer Dutch Love seeks to challenge and change the status quo.
Launching this campaign in support of International Women’s Day, Dutch Love launched their community initiative – a quarterly review highlighting the strong female entrepreneurs and female-run businesses which elevate the industry as a whole. Highlighting brands & people such as OHAI, Allume, and Georgia Love, Dutch Love not only told their story but also linked out to the brands for those interested in lending their support.
Food Drive – Farmer Jane Cannabis Co.
Out in the Canadian prairies, retailer Farmer Jane Cannabis Co. set an ambitious goal to aid the communities in which they operate. With the goal of donating enough food & money to provide 30,000 meals to the Regina Foodbank, Saskatoon Foodbank, and Harvest Manitoba in the month of October, they donated $1 for every purchase of the Farmer Jane 3.5g flower while collecting food across their locations.
Not only did they donate from their own products, but B.C. producer BZAM also contributed $1 from every purchase of their product to help the retailer reach their ambitious goal of providing meals across the prairies.
Pride Lighters – FOUR20
While setting goals to aid underprivileged communities, an important step is to listen and take feedback from them. Retailer FOUR20 set out to not only challenge stigma through the month of Pride but also to donate proceeds from both their Pride t-shirts and lighters; they also lowered the price by 50% given the feedback regarding accessibility.
Rocking rainbows in-store and online, they released an article titled “5 Ways to Share the Love for Pride Month” on their website in which they gave a transparent overview of their campaign while simultaneously supporting others – such as the aforementioned campaign from Sundial!
No One Should Be Incarcerated For Cannabis – Weedmaps
Weedmaps has been an integral part of the cannabis community for a long while – releasing various articles sharing stories, information, and resources to the community. This previous 4/20, in celebration of the “high holiday” as well as New York’s legalization of cannabis, Weedmaps purchased giant ad space in Time Square – congratulating the state on the momentous occasion while simultaneously asking “if weed is legal, why are so many people in jail for it”?
Capitalizing on the headlines from this, WeedMaps also released an article by the same name, in which they laid out public opinion on cannabis, the history of the War on Drugs, and shared the story of Michael Thompson – a man who had served 23 years behind bars for a non-violent cannabis offense. Through this, they saw Gov. Gretchen Whitmer granting clemency for Thompson with a release expected in January.
Summer of Social Justice – Cresco
The failure that is The War on Drugs left scars across North America – tearing families apart over non-violent drug offenses due to misinformation & scaremongering. On June 19th of 2021 – the 50th anniversary of The War on Drugs – Cresco Labs launched their Summer of Social Justice initiative across both their retail and flagship brand.
Through supporting community expungements events, Know Your Rights workshops, fundraising, and a documentary highlighting the impact of The War on Drugs, Cresco was able to amass over $250,000 for their community/grassroots partners – such as The Last Prisoner Project.
”It was a privilege to lead a nationwide expungement initiative that supported the restoration of rights and agency for over one thousand people and collaborate with every business unit across the organization to deploy meaningful programming that raised broad awareness of social equity and engaged our customers and partners to act. There are still over 40,000 people imprisoned with cannabis charges across the country, and for these people, their families and their communities the War on Drugs continues. As our inaugural ‘Summer of Social Justice’ initiative ends, we’ll continue demonstrating our commitment and responsibility to historically marginalized people, businesses and communities, as well as encouraging our peers and customers to continue supporting social justice-focused community organizations.
Chima Enyia, Executive Vice President of SEED, Cresco Labs
Which of these brands had the best Social Good Campaign?
Last Updated on December 8, 2021 by ADCANN
