ehroundsquare!

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ehroundsquare!

Aroundsquare is a Canadian company, and we've had great support from a handful of independent toy stores up here since the beginning. We got our start in Calgary, and the Calgary community has been awesome actually, with great thanks to longtime friends, Livingstone and Cavell Extraordinary Toys, Monkey Shines Children's Books, and Riva's Eco Store. Our first real exposure to the rest of Canada came this year at the Canadian Toy and Hobby Fair this pas January. We connected up with a bunch of cool independent stores east and west of crude country. And we also met, for the first time, a very cool Canadian distributor specializing in eco-friendly and socially responsible toys. They represent very cool and unique brands across Canada, and Aroundsquare is proud to

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democracy, education, and toys

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democracy, education, and toys

Aroundsquare is involved in what might appear to be a strange mix of projects. Social development and child development are pretty far apart on the technical spectrum, but they are related in that they both have to do with the kind of people growing up within a society. Educational consulting and toy design are a bit easier to connect, and with that connection, Aroundsquare works to bridge individual and social development. Democratization, sustainability, cognitive theory.. It's all interconnected, and Aroundsquare's work infiltrates all of these fields. These things all have to do with the way that people, as individuals, and collectively as societies, develop.

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awards round-up

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awards round-up

Aroundsquare has won a few awards and honours lately that are worth pulling together for a little mention:

B Corp Best for Communities Honouree - Aroundsquare is very proud to have been named by B Labs as one of its B Corp Best for Community Honourees. All Certified B Corporations have to pass rigorous standards to become certified in the place, so to be recognized as a leading micro-enterprise among B Corporations is truly an honour. We take pride in being a founding Canadian B Corporation, and we take pride in our score of excellence in the areas of governance, community, and environment on B Labs's Impact Assessment. And we are extremely proud of the partnerships and policies we have developed which have contributed to our recognition as part of this Best for the World campaign. 

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benefitting the beneficial

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benefitting the beneficial

aroundsquare is committed to conducting business in a way which delivers benefits at each step.  to that end, we're constantly reflecting on questions like who we should be doing business with, from manufacturing partners all the way through to our retail partners.  the store that you might see our products in.. those are no accident.  we like to support good independent stores, stores which contribute something to the community, stores which care about quality, and care about play.  

in addition to making donations of our products to education and childcare centres in the developing world, we also provide special pricing for children's museums, and benefit-driven business which are doing something more than just trying to make a buck.  

in keeping with this spirit, we are launching a new program to extend our hand to non-

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supporting the new economy

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supporting the new economy

aroundsquare is proud to be a certified B Corporation.  unlike regular businesses which are driven by profit alone, AO2 leverages the tools of business to generate benefit.  while most businesses have a single bottom line, profit, aroundsquare has four.  in addition to being financially viable, aroundsquare strives to deliver social, developmental and environmental benefit through incorporating these values into all decision-making related to the products developed and the processes used to bring them to the market.  

AO2's certification as a B Corporation signifies that this is not just empty rhetoric.. this is not green, or red, marketing.  B Labs, the organization which certifies B Corporations, has a rigorous certification process involving a detailed survey and follow-up process in which prospective companies are required to back up claims with appropriate

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