Ethically Minded
Considering
that Ethical Junction (EJ) and Get Ethical (GE) share the same goals it is no
surprise that they are now going to put their heads together to inspire and
promote ethical practice in business, and to enhance the variety, quality and
quantity of ethical products and services for the consumer.
In
the coming months EJ will be providing GE businesses with the opportunity to
receive the EJ seal of approval by undertaking their ethical screening. In this
way EJ will considerably increase the size of its membership whilst also
providing consumers with the increased reassurance of ethical authenticity.
Who are Get Ethical?
Get
Ethical is the original brainchild of Red Pepper and The Big Issue, their
objective being to promote and advance ethical consumption, and support social
enterprise by providing an affordable platform on which to launch ethical
ventures. 2007 has seen a new management team take over the mission led by GE
Managing Director Phil Soulsby, an accountant with over 20 years experience in
international finance. Phil is very positive about the proposed co-operation
with EJ, seeing it as a major opportunity for the ethical sector to show not
just how it can be successful, but how it can lead the mainstream to more
sustainable practices.
Co-operative Thinking
It
can’t be overestimated how important the principle of co-operation is to the
success of this partnership and to the broader social objective of increased
sustainability. Simon Bottrell, EJ Communications and Brand Director, said,
“This
can be seen as the beginning of a campaign – one that has been planned for
sometime now – to encourage increased co-operation within the ethical sector.
You can expect to hear us talk more and more about ‘Co-operative Thinking’
in the months to come.”
Phil
helped clarify how this idea will work in practice, saying,
“We [Get Ethical
and Ethical Junction] share the same mission, to help ethical traders achieve financial success whilst also contributing positively to the wider world. Presenting a united front will make it easier for ethical start-ups, existing ethical businesses and, of course, mainstream businesses that want to adopt ethical practice to navigate what can seem a very fragmented market.”
Gearing up to success
In
recent months there has been a noticeable ground swell of approval in public
attitudes toward the greener side of life.
Various initiatives have already been implemented by EJ during this
period; the development and launch of Ethical Pulse, the securing of the
Co-operative Bank as EJ partners and the engagement of the services of ethical
PR consultants, Green Rocket, being prime examples, but it is the recent
agreement to work with GE that is set to really give ethical trading a
substantial boost.
Ethical Strategy
Tom
Barnett, EJ’s Managing Director, summed it up when he said,
“It’s a win-win
opportunity for the entire network and we are looking forward to great
things. Ethical Junction has noticed a
steady increase in applications for membership from start-up businesses in the
last year or so – this can only be a good thing for the market and we want to
provide all the support we can at this stage of growth”
Watch this space…
also in issue 4 of pulse news
Tags: energy, environment, finance