Some organizations call this the mission moment.  We need to be reminded from time to time about the mission—why it matters, why we bother to care, and how people are better off because of it.  The founders of Shift 6 are passionate about the mission of the cause.  Shift 6 is committed to having an impact in the fight against modern day slavery, oppression, and extreme poverty.

I keep coming back to the thought that causes (the efforts and the organizations that are behind them) are never a bigger deal than the person who suffers under intense oppression.  Shift 6 seeks to partner with organizations that do not merely labor to bring an end to injustice, but to go further with a mission of mercy to connect with and truly help those who are victimized.  I have to admit, it feels good to spend a little extra money on a dinner for charity knowing that it helps the cause.  The emotional moment leaves me feeling connected to the cause.  What if we take this kind of momentum and turn it into something more than an emotional experience at a charity dinner?  I’m talking about a missional lifestyle.

Our apparel is being designed with the purpose of connecting people to the cause. Every time you put on a Shift 6 shirt, we want you to think about the enslaved and the oppressed.  We want the designs to evoke questions from your friends and people on the street, so you can tell them about the mission and about helping the people who suffer in our world today.

We’re working hard to bring you the kind of product that you can get excited about and that connects people to the mission of elevating the cause.  Stay tuned as we keep you posted with our progress.  We’d love to hear from you if you have ideas or comments.  Thanks for stopping to read our blog.

The team is continuing to make progress on our blog and the website. The blog is starting to come together really nicely.  We’ve added a new section on along the right side of the main blog page.  We’re still thinking through exactly what we want to feature there.  Right now we’re promoting a new documentary from the International Justice Mission titled “At the End of Slavery”.  Definitely check it out.

We’re hoping to have a pre-launch landing page up on our site in the near future.  Maybe we’ll feature a cool countdown clock to launch.
We had a good initial conversation with a possible screen printing partner.  In addition to using an organic t-shirt, we also want to use an eco-friendly screening process.  This particular company uses a water-based ink.  We’re hoping to see some samples of their work this week.

Speaking of shirts, we’re continuing to evaluate organic t-shirt suppliers.  New samples arrived yesterday.  We really want to provide our customers with the very best product we can, so we’re going to be picky!

That’s all for now.  Check back soon for more progress reports.

For us, everything starts with our purpose. Our business model, product decisions, site design, marketing efforts, the company name…all of these things are different extensions or manifestations of our purpose. We’ve spent more time discussing our purpose than any other aspect of our business.

We want Shift 6 Threads to be a force for good. Too often, especially in recent years, businesses have been forces for evil. We’ve all seen footage of some CEO in handcuffs doing the perp walk (supposedly it’s even a new dance craze in certain nightclubs). We believe business should be a force for good. Of course, profits are still important. After all, we can’t do much good in the world if we go out of business. Nevertheless, we didn’t start Shift 6 Threads to get rich. We started this company to try and make a difference in our world.

“Doing good” and “making a difference” sound great – but they’re pretty broad terms. One way we will live out those ideals is by using Shift 6 Threads to support great causes. But which causes? We probably all know of medical research charities, big brother/big sister groups, health awareness campaigns, or other causes that are actively making our world better. But did you know that there are over 27 million people enslaved in our world today? Human slavery in 2009?

Which brings us back to our name. Take a quick look at your keyboard. You’ll notice that pressing Shift and 6 results in the “^” character (officially known as the “caret”. hmm…caretthreads.com?) This is the mathematical symbol for an exponent.

I consulted the Googles for a good definition of exponent.  One definition is “a mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself”.  Good ol’ junior high math:  2 raised to the second power equals 4.  2 raised to the 3rd power equals 8 (I won the Who’s Who in math…okay, i didn’t).  Another definition is “a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea”.

We think both of these definitions fit.  An exponent raises to a higher power.  An exponent can take something small and make it very big.  An exponent can amplify.

27 million people enslaved.  Something as tragic as slavery and oppression should not go unnoticed.  Shift 6 Threads’ purpose is to amplify great causes working to bring justice and freedom to the oppressed.  We will be a voice for those that have no voice.  Everything we do as a company flows from our purpose.  It’s hard-wired in our DNA.

Lastly, while the core tenents of our purpose will not change, the expressions of it will certainly evolve over time.  In fact, we hope our customers will take an active role in helping us live out our mission.  So feel free to leave a comment, @us, or leave a note on our wall.  We welcome any and all feedback.