At a La Mesa coffee shop called Java Mama, Nichole MacDonald shows off the latest in eco-friendly purses. One’s made of recycled polyester, treated to look and feel like leather. Another has a zippered compartment to hide your green shopping bag. Her year old business Bagonia is thriving, she says, in big part, because of the support she’s getting from other moms.
“I can’t even tell you what it’s meant to me and my business,” the single mom of a four year old boy says. “Being connected to some of the moms has gotten me into stores and has gotten other people onto my website, and that’s genuine support.”
And now MacDonald is part of a new online movement asking moms to pledge to do exactly that: harness their purchasing power to support women-owned businesses through the recession. It’s called “Moms Rock the Economy.”
The website asks moms to sign a pledge saying they will support women-owned businesses as often as possible.
“It doesn’t mean I can’t go to Target and buy my diapers if I need to do that it,“ Lacey explains. “Essentially, it says when I look at where I purchase my goods and services I’m going to take a look and really support other mothers and other women owned businesses so they can become financially stable and as well as successful.”
Screenshot from Moms Rock The Economy