Member Article

Social Saturday scheme launches to promote businesses with a conscience

Saturday 13 September will be the UK’s first Social Saturday – raising awareness and boosting the numbers of consumers buying from social enterprises.

Social enterprises are businesses that have a positive impact on communities and the environment. The day also celebrates the fact that the UK has the world’s largest social enterprise sector.

Research released by Social Enterprise UK and the Cabinet Office shows that British adults are concerned about where and how they buy products and services.

In the North West, 43% of people think there should be more socially responsible businesses to buy from.

The UK-wide research for Social Saturday which surveyed 2,070 British adults examined how consumers feel about the behaviour of businesses. The results uncover that many British people have strong views about buying from businesses known to be irresponsible:

· More than 1 in 3 (35%) said they feel ashamed when buying from businesses they feel are socially irresponsible – more women than men feel this way (40% vs 30%)

· More than a third (40%) said they don’t feel there are enough socially responsible businesses to buy from in the UK

· A quarter (26%) said that there is a stigma attached to buying from socially irresponsible businesses

· 1 in 7 (14%) people aged 25-39 said they hide from friends that they buy from socially irresponsible businesses

· 1 in 5 (18%) said they would be put off a romantic partner if he or she regularly bought products or services from socially irresponsible businesses,

One business celebrating Social Saturday is vegetarian and vegan café Cowherds, which will be holding a pop up shop atLevenshulme Market.

Cowherds was set up by vegetarian chef and former health worker Paula Maguire from Irlam, and named after the Rev William Cowherd, who presided over the ironically named Beefsteak Chapel and is credited with starting the vegetarian movement by asking his parishioners to stop eating meat.

Paula’s market stalls sell healthy foods and the profits help her provide free cookery courses and demos in local communities. Cowherds is also going to be hosting Bistro Nights at the Creation Café, The Angel Centre, Salford, from 25 September and pop up cafés at Garden Needs, Salford, from 27 September.

Paula said: “Social Saturday is a great way to raise awareness of social enterprises. I have worked in healthcare for years, and believe that there is a great deal of interest in eating healthily, but that people do not always have the skills and knowledge.

“By running the market stalls I am able to fund community events to teach people basic cooking skills and share information on nutrition.”

Also supporting Social Saturday is Popup Bikes in Manchester city centre. Popup Bikes provides indoor cycle parking for 100 bikes, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. It is also home to a cycle repair shop and a coffee shop serving direct trade coffee, providing a place where cyclists can meet.

Dipak Patel of Popup Bikes said: “We have been around for two years and the bike and coffee shop profits help fund the free parking we offer to people. We are a real social enterprise, and recently helped out a local company doing a charity ride by providing them with free parking for their 24 bikes.

“We give back to the community in a direct way, using our business to provide a service, and also hold bike jumble sales where we offer cheap second hand parts for cyclists. Payment is via an honesty box, so if people really can’t afford spares they can have them for free – we are keeping cyclists on the road and nurturing the city’s cycling community.”

In Liverpool, The Brink is holding a barbecue and vintage fair with DJs on Social Saturday. The Brink is an alcohol free café on Parr Street, which uses its profits to support those who have suffered with addictions.

Affiliated to Action on Addiction, The Brink offers group treatments and one to one counselling, all made possible by the profits from sales in the café which has an extensive menu and lively events programme.

The menu uses the best, locally sourced ingredients and has a huge range of non-alcoholic drinks. The Brink works closely with local artists, musicians and poets to put on a wide range of events. These include guitar lessons, a free film club, family Sundays and a book club.

David Barnicle, Events and Engagement Manager at The Brink, said: “The Brink is Liverpool’s first dry bar, and a true social enterprise, whereby profits from the café are used to benefit the community, allowing us to offer counselling and help to those who need it.

“This Saturday we are hosting a vintage fair with a DJ. I will be manning the barbecue flipping burgers and everyone is welcome to come along.”

Belgravia House of Gifts (BHG) is another of the city’s social enterprises, selling luxury hampers and gourmet gifts using ethically sourced ingredients, which are then packaged in the community, offering business skills and creative therapy to socially isolated women and providing them with a safe place to meet.

Bayo Jide, Founder of BHG, said: “We think of our products as the gift that keeps giving. We are a member of Social Enterprise UK and work with 4Wings to help provide employment, skills building and creativity sessions to isolated women – as well as using products in our new gourmet gift boxes that are also from social enterprise companies such as Ethical Edibles and The Tea People. We think Social Enterprise is the way forward and are proud to support Social Saturday.”

The UK-wide research for Social Saturday which surveyed 2,070 British adults [1], examined how consumers feel about the behaviour of businesses. The results uncover that many British people have strong views about buying from businesses known to be irresponsible:

Other well-known brands include The Big Issue, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Better leisure centres, Pants to Poverty, Divine Chocolate and Belu Water. All are businesses that reinvest profits into a social cause, from employing and training people furthest from the job market, to profits going to support charities.

This Social Saturday 13 September will encourage the British public to ‘buy social’ and social enterprises around the country are opening their doors and hosting events There is also now a range of ways that people can invest their money to further support social enterprises- find out more and buy online at www.socialsaturday.org.uk.

Brooks Newmark MP, Minister for Civil Society, said: “A staggering 82% of social enterprises reinvest their profits locally and Social Saturday is an opportunity for people across the country to explore the breadth of this vibrant and growing sector. There is clearly a demand for people to buy social and there are now more ways than ever for people to invest socially as well”.

Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: “Every product and service you buy has a social or environmental impact, so why not make it a good one? The UK’s social enterprise sector is growing fast because consumers care about how their spending decisions affect the world they live in.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .