the.com/goodwill
The afterlife of stuff, where your ex's sweater becomes someone else's lucky find.
means Friendly, kindly feeling toward others; a willingness to help or wish people well; also the intangible value of a business's good reputation and customer relationships.
from A straightforward Old English compound of 'good' and 'will' — literally a good will, a well-meaning disposition. The sense of 'kindly intent' is ancient (it rings out in the 'peace, good will toward men' of old English Bibles). The accounting sense — a company's reputation as a thing worth money — is a much later figurative stretch, taking 'the good will of the customers' and putting it on the books. The thrift-store chain borrowed the warm old word directly.
- founded
- 1902 by a Boston minister hiring the poor
- hidden value
- Rare records and art surface in donation bins
- online empire
- Runs auction site shopgoodwill.com since 1999
- accounting term
- Companies pay billions for invisible 'goodwill' on books
- scale
- Over 3,200 stores across North America
goodwill industries — nonprofit thrift chain founded 1902, operates in us and 6 other countries with $6.1b revenue
goodwill ambassador program — un initiative since 1945 featuring celebrities like angelina jolie and david beckham representing causes