Case Study: LifeStraw: Making a difference
More than one billion people-one-sixth of the world's population-are without access to safe drinking water. At any given moment, about half of the world's poor are suffering from waterborne disease, and 6,000 die each year by consuming unsafe drinking water. The world's most prolific killer is diarrheal disease borne bacteria like typhoid, cholera, e.coli, and others. Safe water access has the potential to transform the lives of millions.
Until now, there was not much anyone could do about this because systems to clean water were costly and required electricity and spare parts, etc. But there is now hope for a low-cost solution, the LifeStraw, a personal, low-cost water purification tool. Invented by Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, the tool is a plastic pipe filter, a little longer than a toilet-paper tube, and about the same diameter.
Inside the tube, a series of mechanical screens, carbon particles, and resin beads filter and kill most pathogenic bacteria and
microorganisms common in water systems throughout the world. Using a patented material called PuroTech Disinfecting Resin, the
filters are rated for 185 gallons of water -approximately one year's use for a single individual.
Mikkel originally wanted nothing to do with his family fabric business, Vestergaard Frandsen, preferring instead to develop small entrepreneurial enterprises in Africa. A 1992 coup in Nigeria forced his return to Denmark, where his father Torben, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen, convinced him to join the company, founded by his grandfather Kaj to produce hotel uniforms.
Mikkel's first task was to find something to do with more than 1 million square yards of surplus fabric the company didn't need. He had the woolen material cut into blankets and sold to aid organizations. Later, as cheap textiles from China began to undermine the business, he looked to more specialized products. He began with a trap for tsetse flies, made with insecticide-laced fabric, and then expanded with products such as wash-resistant mosquito nets (PermaNet) and plastic sheeting that can be used as blankets or for temporary shelter (ZeroFly.) Ninety percent of the company's business is malaria prevention. According to the World Health Organization, such nets have helped reduce childhood-mortality rates by 25% in sub-Saharan Africa.
The company developed the LifeStraw in conjunction with Atlanta's Carter Center. Over the years a partnership was created with The Carter Center, Rob Fleuren from Holland, and Moshe Frommer from Israel.
The LifeStraw was designed with special care to avoid any moving parts, has no replaceable spare parts, and operates without use of electricity, which does not exist in many areas of the third world. The only force required is the natural source of sucking, something even babies are able to perform. But the beauty of the LifeStraw is the price-initially around $2.00, but that could fall as production ramps up.
Most interesting to note about this case is the fact that Vestergaard Frandsen no longer develops hotel uniforms. They focus entirely on water filters, insect nets to prevent the spread of malaria and other textile products that allow for disease control .
Discussion Questions
1. How does this case show that someone can make money, but also benefit society too?
2. What other companies make profit but also benefit society? Discuss.
3. Do you think it is possible for the majority of US companies to do both? Why or why not?