PPB February 2021

from underserved communities in Chicago who have been historically sidelined from economic opportunity. Our 1eleven Program provides our program associates with a dignified job, skills training, educational opportunities, mentorship, leadership development, cross‐training in multiple facets of our business, and a pathway to a viable career. “Our goal isn’t just to hire someone and give them a low skillset job,” says Hirschberg. “It’s to put them on a career path, and that’s our point of difference.” “When we first started producing our own products, 1eleven wasn’t a program; it was just a brand name. The goal, at the time, was limited to hiring people frommarginalized communities in Chicago through the Cara workforce training program. But we had a lot of challenges including an off-site production facility and a brand that wasn’t successful. About a year later, I shut down production, and when our lease was up, moved to a new facility that housed all our operations, hired my Made By Hands business partner (Ava Berry) who worked on the re‐brand and perfected the production process, created a program, and relaunched the LIFT line in 2019 at the PPAI Expo. Pre-COVID, we loved having distributors visit because they can walk right into our workshop and get busy making soap or candles alongside our workers, learning from them.” Passion and opportunity are what led HHP LIFT to the promotional products industry. Passion and opportunity are also what led HHP LIFT to creating their own line of products and developing a program that is making an impact in Chicago. “You saw eco‐friendly products but didn’t see a social impact category in the promotional products space back in 2010 or 2011 and we saw an immense opportunity to create impact on a large scale in this industry,” says Hirschberg. “We knew that we could grow business for our partners and teach them about branding and adhering to the strict standards required to succeed in this industry. We started slowly, working with a few of our partners, and then we had the opportunity to produce our own product line which has been hugely successful in conjunction with the launch of our own program to hire people from underprivileged and overlooked communities right here in our own backyard.” PPB spoke with Hirschberg to learn more about the power of purpose. PPB How can a product make a social impact? Hirschberg There are lots of products made in countries with no regard for safety of the environment for its workers, the minimum age of its workers, the quality of the air or the amount of money that workers might get. Every single producing partner we work with is certified with the FTF, WFTO, a certified world trade federation or certified a child‐free labor workplace or vetted by us with the same stringent standards. And we partner with social enterprises, too. A social enterprise is an organization that marries mission to markets and it is necessarily interested in the well-being and care of more than the bottom line. Things like providing incredible social programming, guaranteeing a livable wage, education, health care, financial literacy, interest-free micro loans, disaster relief and a 13-month Above left: Harry, a part-time program associate trainee, makes soaps and candles in the LIFT workshop. Above right: HHP LIFT ’s Community Lunch provides healthy meals with greens and vegetables from a social enterprise urban farm partner in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. HHP LIFT 68 | FEBRUARY 2021 | CONNECT