Why Interra was created
Interra’s creation was motivated by a deep concern about
our future and the increasingly apparent disconnect between the
values of our society and the actions of the large institutions
that are shaping our world. While consumer spending makes up 70
percent of the U.S. gross national product, consumers do not wield
that power in ways that positively impact their communities.
Greg argues that, through our lack of civic engagement and daily
purchase decisions, we have supported the growing dominance of
large, centralized institutions and an economy that is neither
economically or environmentally sustainable. As a result, we are
living with the consequences of absentee ownership, where big businesses
are disconnected from local communities and are not accountable
for practices that undermine their economic, social, and environmental
stability.
These trends have created serious consequences for local communities:
- Job losses mount as communities lose economic diversity
- The diverted cash flow shrinks the local economy’s capital
base and the ability to generate new wealth
- The local tax base shrinks, affecting a wide variety of public
services (e.g., schools, hospitals, social services)
Interra supports a new consumer movement around connecting our
values to our purchases
Interra addresses this unseen disconnect and provides the integral
system that is necessary to reverse its effects. Interra supports—and
will fuel—a number of positive trends happening in the marketplace:
Local governments supporting local businesses
Municipal governments are commissioning economic studies to find
methods of improving local economic vitality, by supporting locally
owned businesses. Forward-thinking communities like Philadelphia,
Boulder, and Portland are already attempting their own “buy
local” programs.
Cultural movements
The LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) and Cultural
Creative movements are strong and growing fast. There are an estimated
50 million Cultural Creatives in the United States, while the LOHAS
market is estimated at $230 billion per year. Both consumer segments
support locally based economies grounded in environmental sustainability
and a well-developed social conscience.
Consumer desires
There is a growing movement amongst consumers to want to connect
purchases with their values, according to research within the general
U.S. population. A U.S. Department of Commerce survey found:
- 78% of consumers would more likely buy a product related to
a cause
- 62% would switch retail stores to support a cause
- 67% rated rebate from local merchants as a primary reason to
participate in a loyalty program
- 55% indicated that local issues are more important than national
(30%) or global (10%)
How a typical Interra transaction works:
- Customer purchases a $100 item from a participating merchant
- $100 is charged to the cardholder’s account
- Merchant rebates $5 (or an average 5%), divided three ways:
- $2 donation to cardholder-designated nonprofit
- $2 Interra points to cardholder’s account
- $1 system fee for marketing and account management
 |
|
How Interra works
Interra is a consumer-focused technology
platform and set of networking tools that aggregate the power
of individual choice into a social movement that benefits
social, economic, and ecological systems. There are three
elements:
- A payment-card system. Consumers are
rewarded with “loyalty points” for making purchases
at values-based merchants, who support the local community
and environmentally sustainable business practices. Also,
as part of their purchase, they can donate directly to
their choice of nonprofit organizations. Interra will issue
credit and stored-value cards through local banks, or members
can register existing credit or debit cards to participate.
- An easy-access directory of values-based
merchants and products. This helps empower consumers with
the information they need to make personal purchasing decisions.
- An online network of like-minded people—manufacturers,
merchants, and consumers. To join, members complete an
online profile that captures areas of personal interest—they
control how much of their information is made public. Members
can then connect and organize with other local members,
post notices of events to the local Interra community,
and receive notices of local events that match their interests.
Interra also enables individuals to link into other Interra
communities. For example, a business traveler on the Interra
network might go to another Interra-networked city. This
traveler can tap into that city’s Interra network
to find restaurants, entertainment, and shops that are
similar to his or her home-based Interra network.
In essence, Interra is a “voting
tool” that empowers consumers with information and
choice, turning purchasing decisions into contributions to
the community, the local economy, and the environment. In
aggregate, the system becomes an enabler of a social movement
toward a sustainable economy and values-based culture.
Interra, by its very nature, becomes a
self-proliferating system. As more and more individuals and
merchants join, benefits within communities will only improve
with time, encouraging more and more people and businesses
to get involved. And with the launch of each Interra community—they’re
launching region by region—a whole new set of resources
becomes available to the whole system. Within five years,
Interra expects to be in 100 communities and to have five
million active members, capable of generating over $10 billion
of Interra-related commerce.
|
|
PDF
download
