Tentree's customers aren't driven by price; they believe in the mission ofthe company. \"Our customers need to believe in us and what we're doing,\" Emsley says. \"If they question whether we're actually planting trees, we're going to be in trouble.\" A big part of establishing trust with consumers is choosing the right suppliers and partners. Tentree works with registered not-for-profit tree-planting organizations to ensure they support environmental best practices and plant trees that survive. Tentree is also careful to buy from suppliers with high ethical and environmental standards that are veried by an independent auditing company. Finding like-minded suppliers and partners is a constant challenge. Tentree's Environmental Mission Tentree puts its values ahead of profit. "What most people don't realize about Tentree is that we are tree planters rst,\" Emsley explains. 'We didn't originally found Tentree because we wanted to create a clothing brand. We founded Tentree because we wanted to create a positive impact on the world and we believe that tree planting is one of the best ways to do that.' To get customers invested its tree-planting mission, Tentree has made the process interactive. Each clothing item comes with a tree code which you can enter on Tentree's website. You'll then be prompted to choose where you want your trees planted: Madagascar, Senegal, Haiti, Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, the U.S., or Canada. The website also has a counter that tells visitors exactly how many trees have been planted. [At the time of publication of this case study, 55,231,?9? trees have been planted to date.) Planting trees is not the only way Tentree shows its dedication to the environment. As explained on the company's website, Tentree makes its apparel from a variety of sustainable materials. Instead of using plastic or leather for fixtures, Tentree uses coconut shells for buttons and cork for patches, trims, zipper pulls, and more. Additionally, some of the company's clothes are dyed with natural, plant-based dyes. A few items also include recycled polyester {plastic}, as well as wool and recycled wool [the only non-vegan fabric the company still uses, since they phased out leather in 2MB}. Maintaining a sustainable clothing brand is challenging. Emsley and Luba admit that they didn't know much about apparel when they started; they were tree planters, and apparel was just the mechanism to plant more trees. I[liver the years, the founders have come to realize that changes in production processes, the cost of raw materials and labour can have a huge negative impact. 7 Case Study Tentree Kalen Emsley and David Luba were surfing and hiking in Hawaii in 2011 when they noticed a trend. Many of their fellow travelers were embracing socially responsible clothing companies such as TOMS, a firm that's built a strong brand by giving away shoes to needy children. The two friends had a eureka moment. What if they combined Emsley's knowledge of tree planting with apparel to build an environmentally conscious brand? The idea would be to plant 10 trees for every item of clothing sold. The duo returned home to Canada and officially founded Tentree International in 2012. The founders made an appearance on CBC's hit show, "Dragons' Den", and enjoyed an immediate boost in sales. "People want to feel good about their purchases and know that what they buy is helping the world in some way," states Emsley. Social Enterprise Tentree is a social enterprise or social business. This is defined as a business that has specific social objectives that serve its primary purpose. Social enterprises seek to maximize profits while maximizing benefits to society and the environment. Their profits are principally used to fund social programs. For the majority of social enterprises, the primary goal is the social cause while making sure the business operates properly and successfully is the secondary goal. Tentree sells clothing to plant trees. Success is measured in the number of trees planted, not in the growth in sales or the ability to cut costs. Tentree's success can be credited in part to a shift among Canadian consumers who now expect businesses to go beyond a "Do no harm" philosophy to "Make a difference". Many Canadians are acting not just as buyers, but also as citizens who care about the world they're creating and living in. In fact, research shows that 60% of Canadian shoppers would be willing to pay at least 5% more for a product or service they consider ethical, while 90% said they would stop buying from a company using irresponsible practices. Socially enterprises are able to establish a clear point of brand differentiation that protects them from price competition with low-cost competitors. In the apparel category, there is a lot of competition, and Tentree is definitely a more expensive brand. But"DATA ANALYSIS - SWOT ~ 1. Using the information in the case, complete a SWOT analysis. Include 4 or more facts in each quadrant. ~ 2. For the external factors, identify the force that corresponds with the trend.~ STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS T.Tentree Clothing Brand Tentree's lifestyle apparel blurs the line between strictly indoor and outdoor gear. Die- hard hikers and city-dwellers can wear Tentree clothes interchangeably. Tentree is for men and women, but has limited choices in each category. In Canada, Tentree apparel can be purchased on the Tentree website and through retailers such as Sporting Life, MEC, Sport Chek and Boathouse. The list of retailers isn't extensive, but brand-loyal consumers know where to find Tentree apparel. The company offers a rewards program for loyal customers and a maintains a blog called "The Environmentor, a guide to everyday sustainable living". Tentree has fostered a large community online built on a love of nature. The company's Instagram account has 2.4 million followers, Facebook has 588,592 followers, and the YouTube channel has 5.98k subscribers. In 2019, when it posted a picture of a tiny tree with the promise of planting 500,000 trees for 5 million likes, Tentree became the third most-liked Instagram post of all time. Do all Canadians love Tentree? Many do, but it's a niche market of consumers who genuinely care about the environment. Industry experts question whether a company like Tentree can grow beyond a niche segment. Some Canadians are simply wary of social enterprises and suspicious of their intentions; 10 trees planted for every item of clothing sold? Many consumers just don't believe that the concept is real. For now, Emsley and Luba have effectively scaled their do-good mission into a successful international company. Tentree is becoming the most environmentally progressive sustainable apparel brand on the planet. Can the brand continue its success? Research suggests that Canadians are becoming more skeptical of social enterprises. The apparel industry is defined by changing consumer preferences. It's difficult to predict if Canadians will continue to like the Tentree style. Long term, industry experts question whether Tentree can continue to prioritize its mission over the business, and whether the company can extend the business beyond the niche market it currently serves. Since its inception, Tentree has planted 55 million new trees on earth. By 2030, the company's goal is 1 billion. As you review the information presented, what can you add to this analysis