This image is from the Waterloo SPP

Social enterprise along with social purchasing directories, portals, green directories and other platforms represents  a new consumer psychology and a new way of socially responsible economic thinking. Products and services in these directories cost no more than their average competitor, in fact they are most often a more competitively and attractively priced option! But they have a distinct advantage in that they directly contribute to the economic, environmental and social health of our communities. New research has shown that consumers will even sacrifice luxury or performance in favor of the perceived social status of green products. While some might think this is somewhat shallow, it truly shows that the pendulum has swung in our time. Buying responsible, sustainable products is COOL! And pretty soon it will likely be beyond cool, as it becomes the status quo. To help us fully make this transition we have a growing number of  directories or portals offering us environmentally and socially minded options  Here are some examples:

Australian organization Social Traders is working with numerous partners for a directory of Australian social enterprise while in China a social purchasing directory created by the group Collective Responsibility, provides socially and environmentally responsible choices for citizens and companies there.  Some major cities with large urban economies to themselves have their own directories and portals like London, England’s SEL (Social Enterprise London). Several Canadian cities including Ottawa, Winnipeg and Kitchener-Waterloo also have active portals that they are building and improving upon as well.

In Vancouver, the Social Purchasing Directory hosted by Building Opportunities with Business is the most comprehensive and accessible directory of its kind in our city and possibly Canada. Other guides like Vancouver’s Green Zebra Guide and the Greater Vancouver Green Guide offer comprehensive lists of businesses, buildings, parks and even projects that are environmentally sustainable.

Vancouver inner-city business Eclipse Awards International and social enterprise Tradeworks Training Society, have strong sustainability and social objectives and make top quality products with reclaimed or FSC certified wood

As our urban economy continues to grow, BOB’s directory will be updated and managed to meet the needs of businesses and individual consumers looking for competitively and attractively priced goods and services from innovative,  socially and environmentally responsible companies or social enterprises.

More than ever people have realized that what we purchase has a powerful impact on the environment, on cultures, regions and on ourselves. The new research shows it now has a powerful effect on our identities now as well. I believe the rise of social purchasing directories social purchasing portals and of green directories and guides for those looking f or  sustainable products that benefit our communities demonstrates a real shift in consumer psychology. “We vote with our dollars” is a quote that sums it up nicely as the world we live in is shaped by the leadership we democratically choose and the producers of goods and services we support with our purchases.

Vancouver's Olympic Village is the world's most sustainable community and was built largely with goods procured from businesses on the Social Purchasing Directory hosted by Building Opportunities with Business

We also say what kind of people we are through these actions, and I would wager to say that most people enjoy being seen as good people who support good businesses and want a better world for themselves and for future generations. It took us a while to see the damage that our old products and systems created and some time for producers of better options to reach economies of scale, but now we have a huge selection of quality products and services- healthy and responsible options-at our fingertips.

So next time you’re looking for a socially responsible gift, a sustainably made product, or an environmentally friendly cleaner, look first to social purchasing and green directories available to you in your city.

-Wes-