American entrepreneurs are not only known for their strategic business planning, but they are also known for their passion, ingenuity, and commitment to social responsibility. There are people around the world who cannot enjoy the same quality of life as most Americans. Startups that are passionate about social work are constantly coming together to find ways to improve the quality of life all around the world. Water is an absolute necessity for survival, and while we share it aplenty in the United States, the UN explains that one in six people in the world do not have access to the recommended amount of fresh water for daily survival and 2.5 billion people live without basic sanitation. American entrepreneurs are set on solving this problem by putting their entrepreneurial and innovative minds to use. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="215" caption="Courtesy of Mashable"][/caption] An article from Mashable outlines some of these solutions:

The good folks at This Shirt Helps have come up with a way for you to stay warm and support a good cause. The company sells just the basics — different t-shirts in different colors — with a social good spin. A percentage of every shirt goes to a charity and cause of choice. For example, buyers can choose to donate to disaster relief which supports Waves for Water, a program that pairs surfing tourists with low-cost water filters they can set up in the developing countries they visit.

This Shirt Helps also plans to collaborate with Creative Recreation and Shiekh shoes to fund a large school and water access project in the first quarter of 2012, says This Shirt Helps co-founder Joe Huff. The apparel business rakes in a ton of money every single year, roughly $300 billion in annual U.S. apparel sales. If every apparel company could give just 1% of their gross sales, Huff says, it could generate enough money to fix the world water crisis in roughly 10 years. The U.N. estimates that $30 billion is needed to provide safe drinking water for every person on the planet.

Read about other solutions here.