Meet the Founder: Morgan Noll of The Social Goods Marketplace

Let’s start 2021 off on the right foot, shall we? On January 9th, Dharma + Dwell will be hosting The Social Goods Marketplace with founder, Morgan Noll. A few months ago Morgan reached out to me as she was preparing to launch her online marketplace. Soon after, we met at the shop for the first time and we both knew a collaboration was in our future. For me, that’s the best part about starting Dharma + Dwell, meeting so many likeminded individuals! Anyways, I know you are here to learn more about Morgan and The Social Goods Marketplace, so I won’t hold things up.

What led to the creation of The Social Goods Marketplace?

The Social Goods Marketplace was born out of my work with a number of small, socially-minded brands and my personal efforts over the years to become a more conscious and ethical consumer. 

I’ve worked for a number of socially-minded start-ups and I found a challenge in the fact that they were doing such amazing work but struggling to get known. I wanted to create a space where their work could be championed and where a variety of sustainable and ethical products could be found in one place.  

How do you incorporate sustainability and ethical practices into your online shop?

Every product carried on the site is either a sustainable or waste-free alternative to traditional products, ethically-sourced or putting money back into marginalized communities, or part of a self-care practice. So products and brands are considered in terms of their materials, their labor practices etc. to make sure they fit into one of our categories of sustainability, social justice, or self-care. All of my business, storage, and shipping materials are repurposed, reusable, and plastic-free. 

What makes The Social Goods Marketplace unique or different than other e-commerce marketplaces?

 The Social Goods Marketplace is a place that leads with values first. All of our products either directly contribute to or support people in working towards personal practices of sustainability, social justice, and self-care. You can shop products based on which values you are looking to incorporate and support. 

My goal is for this site to also be a place of community and education. We will be launching a conversation series this month that features the brands we partner with and other community members on what these values mean to them and how they work on them personally. 

 Why is sustainability important to you and your business?

One of my favorite stats about sustainability/consumption today is that if everyone on Earth consumed at the same rate as Americans, we would need 6 (six!!!) planet Earth’s to keep up with that rate of consumption. Quite simply, the way we are accustomed to living cannot continue. I really believe that businesses have an obligation to behave in a way that is both ethical and sustainable and so I intend to live that out as best I can. 

What are some of the challenges or key issues you see facing the online retail industry?

There are so many! The internet (and internet shopping) has the capability to be such an anonymous activity so I think putting a face and a human story to the products and the brands that we support online is a huge challenge. Shipping and packaging is a huge sustainability concern but luckily there are a lot of eco-friendly options for that if you know where to look.

For more information, follow The Social Goods Marketplace on Instagram!