social enterprise

Well the votes are in and I start my challenge on Sunday 1st November. For 30 days I will be exclusively purchasing from social enterprises. I have spent most of my time worrying about transport and how to get everywhere without being able to turn up at the bus stop or at the train station and buy a ticket, as well as the possibility of running out of petrol nowhere near a co-op or Waitrose Petrol Station. So I have taken a couple of steps to hopefully avoid being stranded. I am having my bike serviced on Saturday at the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative which has a local branch in Chapel Allerton and so I will be going to most meetings in Leeds on my bike, maybe further afield once I get my bike legs!

I have printed a list of co-op petrol stations in Yorkshire which is surprisingly large and may need testing as I am not confident they all exist. Energy supply is another difficult area and I am transferring to EBICO who from what I can tell is the only social enterprise energy supplier and I have found it very easy to transfer so far.

I have had a few e-mails from people offering me services or goods to buy; so if I do buy something from you then you will be feature in this online diary of my 30 day adventure and maybe comment a little about your organisation or the product, although I am not sure I will list every single item on my grocery shop at the co-op unless you really want me too!

I am not taking a ground zero approach, so things I have already bought and own will be used. All new purchases will be from social enterprises and I will be trying to buy from as wide a range of enterprises as possible, including getting all my Christmas presents from Social Enterprises in November. I will also write about any challenges, difficulties or great experiences I have.

This challenge is partly about social enterprises and partly about consumerism, but also what we buy and the power of the individual consumer in our economy. I am going to be reading some books to help me think about what I am doing, these will be:

- Tescopoly by Andrew Simms
- All Consuming by Neal Lawson
- The first Robert Owen biography that I receive from whichever one of those generous people who keep offering to lend me Robert Owen biographies

Reading a short biography of Robert Owen (by Stirling Smith, published by the Co-operative College) recently, a very short passage caught my attention:

‘...at this time great interest in the concept of exclusive trading, that is only shopping with retailers who supported progressive and democratic ideals. The chartists were particularly keen on this idea.’

This struck me as a great idea and one which could increase our own knowaledge of the sector; the products we buy; and consumerism in general. Could it catch on? Would it not need a more defined statement than simply ‘retailers who supported progressive and democratic ideals’?  Perhaps instead: ‘retailers who have social and environment ideals and a form of social ownership’- or in other words-a social enterprise (Marks and Spencer need not apply!).

This idea, forged in the very early days of our movement, is one that may just be about to make a comeback.  Would it be possible in today’s society to purchase exclusively from social enterprises?

This question tempts me to undertake an inverse Super-Size Me, a film in which Documentary Maker Morgan Spurlock just eats McDonald’s food for 30 days. Ian, our Information and Membership Officer, has put a poll together for the site. So here’s the challenge to you:  I need 100 people take part in the poll and if the majority vote ‘yes’ then for a whole month I will try and purchase everything exclusively from social enterprises!

So how will this work? If I need a computer peripheral I could buy it from Airedale Computers; office equipment from Re-Work Furniture; food from the Co-operative Group; clothes at Arkadash. This list goes on. Doesn’t sound too difficult does it...! I will give it a go and blog about the experience, keeping records of goods purchased.

Alex Sobel - General Manager, SEYH.