It’s Feel Good February, and we’re putting an emphasis on social enterprise and the value of supporting others! 

There’s nothing like the buzz of doing something good for someone else. The notion of ‘social enterprise’ is revolutionising what it means to ‘do good’, where the act of consumption is rewarded with the knowledge you’re donating to or supporting a good cause.

Whether it’s Thankyou, the movement committed to ending extreme poverty; The Freedom Hub, fighting to put a stop to modern slavery; or Fruit2Work, providing employment opportunities to those impacted by the justice system, we’re pretty passionate about the impact that social enterprises can, and are, making to our world. Let’s face it, we’re a consumer-driven society – we love to spend money. Social enterprises create an environmentally-friendly and humanitarian solution to our consumer needs.

What is a social enterprise?

A social enterprise merges the concept of business and charity. As a business, social enterprises exist to make a profit from the products or services they sell. The ‘charity’ element comes from what they do with these profits – often over 50% of the money they make from sales becomes a direct investment into their chosen cause. 

Social enterprises generally measure their impact against these categories:

• People: ‘People’ is all about human impact. Changing and improving lives, developing and supporting communities, building awareness, and spurring action.
• Planet: This measurement focuses on environment, sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, climate activism, the list goes on. Social enterprises like Sendle, who offsets the emissions generated from its parcel delivery service; and Good On You, the app cataloguing sustainable fashion, are eco-friendly, climate-aware businesses changing the perspectives of consumers, one product at a time!
• Profit: A social enterprise is still a business, meaning it needs to be profitable to be sustainable. Profit means that the business can pay its employees and build its brand and awareness around its particular social challenge.

Why do we support social enterprises?

At Little Dreamers, we love social enterprises! Not just because of the amazing, colourful and diverse products that come out of such initiatives, but because they turn everyday products and services into an opportunity to give back and support others. It’s a growing trend as well, amongst consumers, employees and entrepreneurs alike. And as a perfect opportunity to merge social good with necessity, why wouldn’t it be?