10 Brands Worth Celebrating During The UK’s Social Saturday
Social Saturday in the UK is just around the corner on October 10! The aim of Social Saturday 2015 is to raise awareness of just how easy it is to support social enterprises and use your spending power to make a positive difference to the world we live in. According to Social Enterprise UK, there are currently over 70,000 businesses in the UK that operate their businesses with great care for people and the planet. To celebrate this day we’ve rounded up 10 of our favorite UK based social enterprises. Most of these companies sell online so we welcome you to participate even if you’re not based in the UK!
1. Belu
Belu started with a simple idea – that there was a better way to do business by reducing environmental impact and using profits to fund clean water projects. Belu is the exclusive bottled water partner of WaterAid and donates all their profits to WaterAid. Belu shares WaterAid’s view that everyone, everywhere should have clean water, sanitation and hygiene, and that this is achievable by 2030.
2. Soap Co.
The Soap Co. is a social enterprise that employs people who are blind or otherwise disabled or disadvantaged to create soaps made from natural extracts and added vitamins. The never tests on animals and is always striving to reduce its impact on the environment through a variety of eco-friendly practices.
3. ARTHOUSE Meath
ARTHOUSE Meath showcases the talents and skills of adults living with severe epilepsy, learning and physical difficulties. Professional art instructors offer guidance to ARTHOUSE Meath artists helping each person create images for designs and art works for exhibition and sale. 100% of sales revenue goes back into the business for ongoing development in the hope of creating more opportunity for more people in the future.
4. Two Fingers Brewing
Two Fingers Brewing Co. gives back to the men that drink it, by giving all of its profits to Prostate Cancer UK. The company promises to handpick the very best ingredients to create beer that’s not only better tasting, but better for men everywhere.
8. From Babies With Love
From Babies With Love donates every penny of profit from their organic baby clothing line to orphaned and abandoned children around the world. The company partners with SOS Children’s Villages to provide loving care for babies and children who would otherwise be living in the streets or slums of impoverished communities.
5. Divine Chocolate
Divine Chocolate is co-owned by the 85,000 farmer members of Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative in Ghana that supplies the cocoa for each bar of Divine. As owners, they get a share in the profits, a say in the company, and a voice in the global marketplace. And their chocolate is AMAZING.
6. The Phone Co-Op
The Phone Co-op provides phone and mobile services for residential and business customers. What makes them different – and enviable to every American stuck with Comcast or AT&T – is that they are a co-operative; owned and run by people like you and me. They offer honest and transparent prices, with no hidden charges, and try their best to keep things simple. They also pay their employees a fair, living wage and use
electricity from renewable sources.
7. Fikay
Fikay is a multi-award winning ethical fashion brand with a mission to celebrate the people behind the products. Fikay empowers people in third world countries by providing them with the fashion manufacturing technology to support their families and the company donates part of every sale to promote education and schools abroad. Fikay also works to empower UK designers to create and market pieces of stylish and ethical innovation.
Pants to Poverty
Pants to Poverty creates fairtrade, organic, sweatshop free underpants. Pants to Poverty works directly with cotton farmers around the world to ensure their products are ethically sourced and farmers recieve fair wages for their materials. Their factory is a carbon neutral spinning, knitting, dyeing and garmenting factory committed to ONLY producing organic cotton.
9. Elvise & Kresse
Elvis and Kresse’s line of wallets, belts, bags and cases are hand made from decommissioned fire hoses. After 25 years of use, the fire hoses are traditionally sent to landfills. Elvis and Kresse envisioned a better use for the storied pieces and determined to create a line of products that would breath life back into the firehose materials. In addition, Elvis and Kresse donates 50% of its profits back to the Fire Fighters Charity.