Featuring SOCAP18 Social Entrepreneurs
This holiday season, and throughout the coming new year, give your loved ones presents that come with the additional gift of social and environmental impact. To help you with your last minute holiday shopping, we’ve put together this list of social ventures from around the world that offer ethically and sustainably made products you can purchase online. Each of these companies offering socially conscious gift options are SOCAP18 Entrepreneur Scholarship recipients.
Support Smallholder Farmers & Cooperatives: Burlap & Barrel Spices
Burlap & Barrel sources unique, single-origin spices directly from smallholder farmers and cooperatives around the world. Give the foodie in your life the gift of of beautiful, delicious, and ethical spices. A few of their top sellers include Cured Sumac, Black Urfa Chili, Wild Mountain Cumin, Herati Saffron, and Smoked Pimentón Paprika. Purchasing Burlap & Barrel spices supports an organization that is building equitable and transparent new international spice supply chains. We highlight the work of expert spice farmers and connect them with direct access to international markets. burlapandbarrel.com
Support Sustainable Agriculture in Swaziland: Chili Products from Black Mamba Foods
Black Mamba Foods offers fair-trade, gourmet chili products that are sustainably grown and harvested in Swaziland. Spicy sauces (including Cayenne, Chipotle, Habanero, Jalapeno and their newly launched Peri-Peri), pestos, chutneys and other products are not only delicious but create sustainable livelihoods for Swazi farmers and their families. blackmambachilli.com
Support Economic Empowerment in Guatemala: Custom Leather Footwear from Adelante Shoes
Adelante Shoes is a sustainable fashion brand that offers handmade leather footwear produced by artisans in Guatemala. Their made-to-order shoes and boots are delivered directly from cobbler to customer in 10 days. Between purchase and delivery of the shoes, customers receive a personal message from their craftsman and a video of their shoes being made. Adelante’s vision is a world that uses for-profit business to create fair value for all stakeholders. adelanteshoes.com
Reduce Food Waste: Fruit and Veggie Snacks from Pulp Pantry
Pulp Pantry makes delicious snacks made from fruit and vegetable pulp (the nutrient-dense by-products left after juicing). Their granola bites come in three flavors: Cinnamon Toast, Cacao Crunch, Vanilla & Sea Salt. Each contains only fruit, veggies, and seeds and provides a delicious way to prevent food waste. This social venture is currently offering a variety of holiday gift boxes containing Pulp Pantry products, as well as a variety of environmentally and socially responsible products from a few of their favorite natural food and wellness brands. pulppantry.com
Empower Vulnerable Women: Socially Responsible Fine Jewelry
Relevée is a socially conscious, woman-owned fine jewelry brand that features ethically-sourced diamonds and precious metals. Their elegant, modern jewelry is designed and handcrafted by female goldsmiths who have overcome unthinkable hardships and were once marginalized by their societies in Southeast Asia. Relevée empowers their passionate jewelers by training and employing them to provide socioeconomic opportunities to break the cycle of gender violence and extreme poverty. relevee.com
Reduce Waste: Plastics Free Reusable Products from Wisdom Supply Company
Thinking about going “zero waste” in 2019? Wisdom Supply Company offers a variety of reusable and recyclable gift options that will reduce the recipient’s environmental impact. Their Stow Bag includes everything a person needs to stop using disposable straws and cutlery. They also offer a 100% Recyclable Weekly Planner. Spiral binding, laminated covers, plastic tabs, and elastic bands make weekly planners non-recyclable (i.e. destined for the landfill). To solve this problem, Wisdom Supply Company designed a zero waste planner (with a fully dated calendar) that is cover-to-cover recyclable. Buying gifts from Wisdom Supply Company also helps support their School Supply Program, which works directly with teachers in the San Francisco Bay area to provide sustainably and responsibly produced pens, pencils, notebooks and other items that reduce waste. wisdomsupplyco.com
Support Artisans in in Latin America: Ethical and Sustainable Fashion & Accessories from Teysha
Teysha employs indigenous artisans in Central America to craft gorgeous shoes, boots, home goods (including table runners, blankets, and pillows) bags, purses, and other goods. All of their products are sustainably sourced and made by fairly-paid craftspeople working with traditional skills and techniques. The brand is also currently offering an online holiday gift market, featuring exclusive products from some of their other favorite sustainable brands. teysha.world
Are you a Social Entrepreneur that has a venture that should be listed here? If so, consider applying for the SOCAP19 Entrepreneur Scholarship. We will begin accepting applications in the spring. Please sign up for our email list to receive advance notice of the upcoming application dates and other news and information relevant to SOCAP and the field of social enterprise and impact investing.
