Shorefast

Shorefast is a registered Canadian charity with the mission to build economic and cultural resilience on Fogo Island, Newfoundland.^[1][2] Shorefast is helping to create a more diverse economy on Fogo Island through a variety of charitable programs and social businesses.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Best known among these social businesses is the Fogo Island Inn, which has earned global accolades for exceptional design^[8] and place-specific hospitality.^{[9][10][11][12]} All of the furnishings in the Inn were made locally, and after visitors to the island expressed interest in purchasing these items (furniture, quilts, etc.), Shorefast founded the Fogo Island Shop, another social business whose surpluses are reinvested in the community.^[13][14][15]

History

Shorefast was formed in 2006 by siblings Zita, Alan, and Anthony Cobb to build another leg on the Island’s economy following the collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery.^[16][17][18] Cobb, who grew up on Fogo Island, left the island in 1975 to study business at Carleton University, and went on to become CFO of JDS Fitel, and then senior vice-president of strategy for fiber optics manufacturer JDS Uniphase. Following her career, she returned home to Fogo Island to start Shorefast’s work with two of her brothers.^[19][20] Cobb says that “the revitalization of Fogo over the past decade builds on the work of people decades before, who gathered to form the Fogo Island Co-operative to rebuild the economy when cod stocks drastically declined.”^[21][22] Shorefast describes itself as a social enterprise, on the basis that it uses business-minded means to achieve social ends. The founder received the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honour, for their efforts.^[23][24][25]

Economic Nutrition Label

In 2017, Shorefast launched its Economic Nutrition Label.^[26][27] The labels, available for most of Fogo Island Shop’s retail items,^[28][29][30] as well as for the cost of a stay at Fogo Island Inn,^[31][32] show “where the money goes”^[33] when consumers make purchases at Shorefast's social businesses. As a play on the classic nutrition fact labels legally required on food products in most countries, the Economic Nutrition Label shows how much of the purchase price of any particular item goes towards production processes including labour, materials, or operations, as well as the money’s geographical destination.^[34] The labels "are intended to bring transparency to where the money from your purchase goes – how it will be invested in the local community and how it impacts the broader economy."^[35]

References