This Christmas Bags of Change is collaborating with a number of UK designers-makers and small green companies who have joined together to open a pop-up shop in Notting Hill with a superb selection of Fairtrade, ethical, organic, and eco-friendly products.

Our Eco Shop brings together the cream of British eco-chic designers under one roof, and anyone who shops there with a Bags of Change bag will be offered up to 10% off their Christmas shopping.

Our Eco Shop will be open until 24th December2008.
Mon – Sat 10am – 6pm; Sun 12pm – 5pm.

Want to know what Colin Firth is getting for Christmas this year?

The British actor’s new eco shop in Chiswick Eco Age is offering a ‘his & hers’ Christmas gift bag service with Bags of Change, the only bag which is also an ethical shopping loyalty scheme.

Christmas orders can be customised by filling one of the stylish Bags of Change bags with a selection of gifts from Eco Age. Prices start at £21 for the organic hemp-cotton bag and £40 for the wild rubber – bag plus gift contents. ‘His’ sample bag is shown, with a Bags of Change wild rubber bag.

Bags of Change have also been nominated for this year’s Green England Awards – in the ‘Most Innovative Green Product’ category. Vote for Bags of Change before 28 November. 

EJ members selected for the Future 100 – The Next Generation of Young Ethical Entrepreneurs

To celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008 last week, London-based CIC Striding Out compiled a list of the ‘Future 100‘ talented young entrepreneurs aged 18-35 who are demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation in progressing a responsible business venture.

Ethical Junction members selected for the list included Societás CEO Melissa Sterry, UK AWARE founder and director Danny Carnegie, Louise Davies of Seventeen Events, Dermot Egan of The Hub, Marcus Hill of London Biopackaging, Laura Tanner of Fill Your Pants, Christopher Hill of Hands Up Holidays, Alicia Lai of Bourgeois Boheme, Brian Walmsley of Fairgift, Elaine Dutton of Pure Design, Gareth Mitchell of Tree2mydoor, Jennifer Graham of Freed Fashion, Katie Fewings of Ethical Weddings, Kim Stoddart of Green Rocket, Lili Larratea of Rethink Games, Paul Tuite of ECOutlet, Penny Cooke of Equa Clothing and Sustained magazine publisher and founder of the Creative Coop, Marc De’Ath.

Heather Wilkinson, whose Striding Out team created the Future 100 idea, said, ‘The future of our world is in the hands of individuals who are committed to generating commercial and ethical returns. The Future 100 young entrepreneurs are changing the face of everyday business and improving commerce’s impact on the wider world.’

To celebrate the Future 100 young entrepreneurs, Striding Out held two profile events during Global Entrepreneurship Week 17th – 21st November in the North and South of England. Special guests from government, policy innovation and media were invited. Melissa Sterry of Societas was invited to speak at the London event, hosted by the British Library on Tuesday 18th November.

Melissa advised that collaboration is key to the success of a young company and that ultimately we have a choice of working ‘with the good guys or the bad ones.’ She said, ‘Working with the goods guys rarely pays as well as working with the bad ones, but that the long term gain for people and the planet of the former choice far outweighs the short-term benefits of supporting companies that behave unethically and unsustainably.’

Future 100 winner Danny Carnegie of UK AWARE said ‘I feel flattered and honoured to be one of the first ever Future 100. Having all your hard work acknowledged with an award like this re-affirms that the countless hours of work behind the scenes are worthy and worthwile.’

Notes
Global Entrepreneurship Week was created to unleash people’s enterprising ideas to address some of society’s biggest issues; Climate Change, Poverty, Gender Equality and Health. The jury that selected the Future 100 included Jo Hill of UnLtd, Phil Tulba of Make Your Mark, Anthony Ross of Bridges Community Ventures, Michael Solomon of SEEWhatYouAreBuyingInto.com and Gaby Rose of the British Library Business and IP Centre.

Shop in luxury on-line this Christmas

Beat the crowds without compromising quality with ethical gift store Boutiko.

Luxury ethical on-line gift store Boutiko offers a beautiful range of individually and sustainably sourced handmade, ethical gifts for family, friends and colleagues for the festive season and beyond.

handmade jewellery – recycled leather notebooks – winter scented soy candles – handcrafted Christmas decorations – clocks made from recycled coffee cups

Boutiko really is mad about the gift business – offering individual customer service and next day delivery wherever possible to ensure gift hunters a shopping experience as luxurious as their purchases! Not only that – but gift wrapping is free (and beautifully done) and gifts can be sent straight to the recipient.

Choose something unique from the personally selected range of unusual presents – here are a few of our new and most favourite:

Recycled Clocks/Clock & Thermometer
Perfect for indoors or out – gardeners and homebodies will adore these weather-proof sturdy clocks, intriguingly made from recycled coffee cups and which look and feel very much like slate. Various styles, from £24.95 to £26.95

One-off Handmade Jewellery & Cufflinks
Made with silver and recycled glass beads, Boutiko’s one-off jewellery designs are exquisitely made and come in a fair trade organza bag.  Includes earrings from £13, and bracelets from £35.  For men, there are stunning handcrafted silver & hardwood cufflinks for men at £50, which also come in a fair trade pouch and a handcrafted box.

The prettiest embroidered washbags you’ve ever seen – handmade by a family business in Vietnam, these exquisite bags are lined with water resistant fabric, £20.

Children will love tidying their toys away – and so will their parents! – with our Toy Pockets – handmade by the same family as the wash bags – which hang neatly on the back of a door or wardrobe, £30.

Winter and Christmas is a great time for candles – our handmade, soy wax candles from a family run business in Cornwall also come in bio degradeable, recycled packaging. The Country Range has three fragrances: Redcurrant & Thyme, Lavender & Rose, Raspberry & Vine Tomato – perfect for those long winter evenings, £12.

Recycled Leather Address Books, Journals & Mini London A-Zs – all handmade by Undercover – in a variety of cover colours (aqua, lipstick, mauve and petrol) – the perfect gift for just about anyone! From £10-£15.

Last but not least – handmade and fairly traded from India, beaded Christmas decorations including hearts, fairies and trees – guaranteed to make every tree sparkle! £3.50 each. Or a set of fine porcelain tealights spelling NOEL, handmade in Britain from recycled off-cuts of porcelain, £40, perfect for creating a magical glow this Christmas.

Oh – and if you do need to pop to the shops at the last minute – take along one of Boutiko’s ingenious One Less Plastic Bag – handmade from Indian saris with every single bag unique in its design! These bags fold away to a tiny pocket size but can carry up to 2kg – plus are machine washable, £10.

Please note prices quoted are from October 1st – there is currently a Boutiko sale on, with many reductions including most of these showcased items.

Design by the creative-coop 

The business model that has served us since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution is now defunct. That model only worked for as long as man had unlimited access to resources. To cope with our growing population and the impact of climate change we need to re-invent how we do business.

Becoming a Social Enterprise (SE) is no longer just a matter of choice; companies that do not embrace social and environmental issues will ultimately struggle to survive, especially as we are in the early stages of a recession that could potentially become one of the deepest in modern history.

Social enterprise start-ups abound, coming in all shapes and sizes. Though technically an SE may be defined as a CIC (Community Interested Company), Fair Trade, NGO or Non-Profit organization, the boundaries between traditional SEs and the commercial sector are becoming blurred. Indeed, arguably a number of commercial companies are equally, if not more effective, at equipping society to make a difference in relation to issues such as climate change, pollution, poverty and species extinction. Such companies tend to be fast-growth start-ups launched in the past decade by young entrepreneurs whose vision of success is based on how much impact they can have on the market place rather than how many zeros they can add to their profit margin.

To read the rest of this article visit the online version of Sustained magazine.

Societás is a member of Ethical Junction, to learn more about them, take a look at their Ethical Junction Profile

Triodos Bank has launched a competition to capture a vision of social enterprise’s more progressive approach to business. And as well as the kudos of winning, there’s a cash prize up for grabs for the best photographer and the social enterprise pictured. The winning photographer receives a £1,000 prize. And the social enterprise featured in the photograph will also win a prize of £500 and a business support package worth £500. Entries from social enterprises themselves are encouraged.

The competition closes on 24 October 2008 when the judges will choose twelve finalists from all entries. The overall winner will be announced at a special event in November.

To find out more, including the rules and how to enter, visit the Triodos website.

A great opportunity to take time out to develop more confidence, energy and effectiveness in your business development

10% off for EJ Members until 20 October

We all know the amazing value of taking time out to think or plan away from the pressures of work – but we always put it off. How about a conference which offers the opportunity to learn and recharge in beautiful countryside?

Last year, Ethical Junction got involved in an extraordinary gathering for people to inspire and be inspired about moving from great ideas to great actions. Our experience made us see the idea of Strategic Awaydays in a new light. As a result, we’ve organized a special EJ discount for this year’s gathering because it so clearly advances ethical enterprise and lifestyle.

Walk Your Talk is a chance to take your business/organisation on an exceptional strategic retreat which is guaranteed to enrich and refresh both you and your work. Not only do you get the space to relax, think and plan, but you do so with around 60 other enthusiastic, energetic and inspiring people who are doing the same thing – entrepreneurs, execs, designers, artists, activists, inventors, investors and consultants.

The result is that the whole gathering acts like an expanded team which puts its energy into helping each other with advice, new ideas, partnership deals and more. It’s like having 60 talented colleagues show up in your organisation for three days. You set the agenda, you talk about what you need to talk about, and you get to meet people who share your interests and concerns.

We love figures, so we did some maths and reckon that by adding up the equivalent person hours and brain power brought to bear on a business, each day of retreat is worth about a month in the office.

So how does it work? Walk Your Talk is held in ‘Open Space’, a facilitated process in which there are no designated leaders. Instead, you steer your own course as the conference evolves, discussions deepen, and connections and realisations emerge. The dramatic Brecon Beacons provide the backdrop for three days of reflection and interaction in a warm and friendly environment, whether on strolls along the banks of the River Usk, or beside the fire with a drink. People learn by walking and talking, sharing passions, curiosities, hopes, expertise and questions. Drawing on each other’s wisdom and experience, everyone supports each other towards the creation of really good personal action plans to take back into their lives and work.

The Walk Your Talk team use a question designed to make it easier to find a common threads amongst a wide range of interests. This year it’s ‘Can we afford to work without heart?’ This question brings up lots of practical issues, like how to balance head and heart stuff, how to set a truly heart based culture and how to communicate it well.

As an Ethical Junction member, you’re entitled to 10% off the fee if you book by 20 October. Fees at individual and small business rates include accommodation, food, facilitation and all that brain power of your fellow guests. The only extras are your bar bill, and a supplement if you can’t bear the thought of sharing a twin room.

Walk Your Talk is at Buckland Hall in the Brecon Beacons from 16-19 November 2008. Full details are on www.walkyourtalk.net and to claim the EJ price, simply mention your membership in the ‘special requirements’ box of the on-line booking form and make your payment for the total shown, less 10%.

What people said about Walk Your Talk in 2007

“A wonderful clearing house of inspiration, wisdom, debate and motivation.”
Jason Elliott, Ethical Jobs

“An absolute must in a crowded diary. Although the thought of taking time out from the office caused some anxiety, the reality was worth every moment.”
Thea Allison, Brighton & Hove Business Community Partnership

“The most extraordinary experience where I felt alive, alert, and came home hopeful and zinging from head to toe. Nothing will ever be quite the same again and the only disadvantage has been that conferences with pre-arranged agendas now seem rather staid and stale.”
Anna Jenkins, Ethical Change

“It has value as a practitioners’ personal development space, allowing those engaged day to day in trying to make the world a better place to recharge, reconnect and refocus.”
Andy Middleton, TYF Group

Once again fish sustainability is top-most of the agenda with the Marine Conservation Society updating the fish to eat and fish to avoid list. And the UK’s most dedicated sustainable canned fish company supports their work but fears that the important messages about which fish to eat are victims of oversimplification.

“There’s been a bit lost in translation here unfortunately” says Tracy Wright, Communications Manager for Fish4Ever, “Journalists have quite rightly pinpointed tuna and anchovy as high risk in terms of sustainability but this is a really complex issues and sometimes suffers from being over-simplified. The Marine Conservation Society says anchovy in the Bay of Biscay need to be avoided and anchovy from elsewhere treated with caution. Tuna in general rates mid-way but there are many specific stocks in dire danger. If you look at both the analysis by Greenpeace on tuna and the MCS advice, you will find that Fish4Ever is choosing the best sustainability options”.

Fish4Ever Buyer, Raffaella Scoretti explains that on every product sourced, the company does a great deal of detailed research: “We avoid all the main dangers, we look at the science on overall stocks, we look at incidence and likelihood of illegal fishing, we look at methods, we look at where it’s fished and whose fishing it and we come up with a best choice. For example our anchovy is from the Mediterranean, we avoided the Bay of Biscay four or five years ago when our anchovy was launched, we use small local boats, we only pack a certain size”.
She adds: “The big anchovy problem in the Mediterranean is the quantities used to feed bluefin tuna in fish farms -anything from 10Kg to 15Kg of anchovy is used up to make 1Kg of bluefin. It’s crazy, somebody else’s madness could kill off our sustainability decision”.
And that is obviously one of the problems that needs to be addressed in fishing, the damage that one type of fishing or fishery can do to others….

Tracy Wright adds that Fish4Ever has worked really hard to make the right decisions with tuna and with the whole range but above all supports a pro-active and very open approach:- “Many companies say it’s too difficult to tell where their fish has come from but we don’t find it all difficult: every single product we have says on the pack both where and how’s it’s fished! Plus we give in depth details on our website through a “trace your fish” option on the front page – for every product we have, all the issues are covered per fish as well as more generally, it’s all mapped out clearly so consumers can make an informed sustainability decision”.

PR and communications agency, global tolerance will be running a very select media training series, specifically designed for charities, social enterprises and faith communities. These courses are designed to equip press officers, media spokespeople, directors of communications, people of all levels responsible for media and communications with practical techniques to increase and improve media coverage.

Media training will take place on two separate full day courses on the 22 and 23 September 2008 from 10:00-17:00, with a 9:30 networking coffee, at global tolerance HQ in Finsbury Park. Courses will be led by award winning, international media trainer Simon Cohen, whose credits wrap the globe from the Parliament of World Religions to the World Spirit Forum. He will be joined by leading experts from the national media who will explain tips and tricks of the trade and answer your questions. The guest speakers include Michael Binyon, Leader Writer for the Times, and George Pitcher, religion editor for the Daily Telegraph. This creates a unique opportunity to network in a close-knit atmosphere with leaders from the media and third sector. For more information and to be considered for a place on the training please download our schedule and reservation form at the following URL: http://globaltolerance.com/news/inspirational-media-coverage-training/download/ or contact nimesha@globaltolerance.com or 0845 054 0064. 

inspirational media coverage

getting charities, social enterprises and faith communities the coverage they deserve

10:00 – 17:00

9:30 Networking Coffee

getting the media’s interest – Monday 22 September (£150)

It’s one thing to know you are doing work that benefits society, it’s a completely different thing to get the media to consider it newsworthy – especially when there is so much negativity in the press. This intensive course will cover the core principles to turning your social-oriented activities into compelling, mainstream news stories, with a first-hand opportunity to engage with and pitch to one of the most senior journalists in the UK. What you will learn:

• media relations
• shaping your planned events and activities to the news agenda – while retaining your values
• creating photo, filming, recording and interview opportunities for the media to capture your story
• creating a simple and successful communications strategy
• writing press releases and media materials that help get the media to cover and come to your events
• lunch will be provided  

guest speaker – Michael Binyon, Leader Writer, The Times

Making the most of media opportunities – Tuesday 23 September (£150)

You’ve done the hard work and got the media interested, now how do you handle that interview in half an hour, and what photos will be printed in the press? Charities fight so hard to get media attention, and so it’s crucial to make the most of every media opportunity. The type of coverage could mean the difference between a much-needed fundraising boost or a destroyed reputation. This course is about ‘wowing’ the media and helping ensure that your social message is the same one that gets broadcast or published in the media

What you will learn:

• the secrets of being a top media spokesperson
• setting up and managing creative photo and other media opportunities
• broadcast interview techniques (live and recorded), with opportunities for filmed role-plays
• how to handle media enquiries in times of crisis
• managing the message of the media
• this course follows and flows from the previous course but can be booked alone
• lunch will be provided

guest speaker – George Pitcher, Religion Editor, The Daily Telegraph

about global tolerance

global tolerance is an award winning public relations and media training company. global tolerance training courses provide charities, social enterprises and faith communities with practical techniques to increase and improve their media coverage. global tolerance works with organisations across the world to improve the media coverage of social issues through consultancy and training. We are passionate about improving media and communications skills and it shows.

global tolerance has had the honour to run highly acclaimed training at the Parliament of the World Religions, the World Spirit Forum, and ‘Living in a multi faith society’ for Save the Children at the British Museum. global tolerance has hosted media training sessions around the world, with renowned journalists appearing as guest speakers.

global tolerance is not affiliated to any religion and has a respect for all faiths. We have strong relationships with the leaders and communities of all of the major faith traditions.

how to reserve your place

• these courses are specially designed for press officers, media spokespeople, directors of communications and people of all levels responsible for media and communications
• to increase the personal interaction at the training, there are only twenty seats available for each day. These will be allocated on a first come first serve basis
• if you are not able to attend yourself, please nominate someone that you feel would benefit
• each training session costs £150 each per person. A reduced price of £250 per person for both sessions
• in order to reserve your place please downloaded a reservation form at the following URL: http://globaltolerance.com/news/inspirational-media-coverage-training/ and email it to nimesha@globaltolerance.com
• once global tolerance receives your completed reservation form, and we still have spaces available for each session, Nimesha will email you details of how to make your payment
• once payment is received your place will be confirmed by email
• if you have any other enquiries, please contact Nimesha Bhagia on 0845 054 0064.
• further information can be found at http://globaltolerance.com

cancellation policy

All cancellations must be received in writing. You may cancel up to fourteen (14) days prior to the start date of the training and we will reimburse you without penalty. If you cancel within fourteen (14) days of the training date we will charge you a 50% cancellation fee. If you cancel within Two (2) days of the training date, or if you do not show up to attend the training, no refund is due. If you are unable to attend the training you can nominate someone in your place at no extra charge.

"I would recommend this training. It was excellent, well structured, precise and to the point."
Pareen Shah, Young Jains

We are thrilled to announce a fair trade partnership with a very inspiring social enterprise in South Africa called Township Trades. All of the participant trainees in this enterprise have had their lives impacted in some way by HIV/AIDS and with unemployment levels at a staggering 70% in Khayelitsha township, this organisation has thrown them a life line.

We have been looking for a partnership of this sort for some time now and then suddenly it appeared before us, as if by fate!  The timing could not have been more perfect or fit in better with our ‘vision’ and we sincerely ask for your robust support, as we are not shy to say that we certainly need it!  

Visionary Soap Company is at that point where we could either invest thousands of £s in equipment and factory space to increase our production. To be perfectly honest, we would rather take that money and invest it in people!  

By sending soap orders to Township Trades, we hope to make an immediate positive impact for this group, while at the same time, have them help us with our soap making!  We are reaching capacity with our current equipment and this is limiting our ability to get out there and market our rapidly growing company (not to mention the exhaustion factor from trying to produce enough soap with our small moulds and barely staying ahead of
demand!)  

An additional element of this partnership is that we will be able to source the vast majority of our ingredients from local farmers and women’s cooperatives in the area, thus furthering the economic impact we hope to make. We also plan on dedicating a portion of the purchase price of each bar of soap towards an entrepreneurial scholarship fund for when trainees leave the programme and want to embark on a business venture of
their own.

A truly depressing documentary on Channel 4 the other night – The Lie of The Land. Quiet anger masked by unfailing politeness characterised a group of ordinary farmers as they watched, not just their livelihoods, but a whole way of life disappearing before their eyes. In the face of a twin assault from government bureaucracy (new regulations to ‘protect’ the environment means more red tape and less scope to manage the infinite variations that land and animals in the real world require) and city dwellers’ demand for ever cheaper food, their bewilderment was heart rending.

At root is a confused and, in many cases, irrational attitude to animals and the realities of rearing them for food. On the one hand we demand an end to fox hunting (a largely symbolic gesture in the face of the many other forms of animal abuse that we know nothing and apparently care less about); on the other, the way we have turned food into a commodity like anything else (to be produced ever more ‘efficiently’ and at ever lower cost) leads directly to the import of meat from countries where attitudes towards animals don’t bear inspection – while, at the same time, to the culling of healthy animals on our own farms because they have no economic value. The net result is that the day is not far off when Britain will no longer produce beef, pork, poultry or milk.

For those of us who eat meat and care about animal welfare, it really is time to reassess the choices we make on a daily basis. Are we going to be accomplices in the destruction of a centuries old way of life simply because supermarkets provide us with cheap food – with the end result that we will become dependent on other countries to feed us? Or are we going to face up to what it means to eat meat and attempt to understand the cycles of life and death that are implicit in its production? If we care about animals then the answer must be that we try and get closer to the people who actually rear them; and that means buying local produce from butchers and farm shops who know where their meat comes from and the conditions in which it was produced. If you know the farm your meat comes from, you can always go and visit …