OCT 21 — I shop a lot. Maybe an embarrassing and dangerous (for my credit card limits) amount.
Sometimes I see an article about a person who has sworn off buying “stuff” and how this has impacted his/her life.
I am aware that so much of the “stuff” I do buy and believe I need is just clutter. My most recent dress shopping spree left me feeling a giddy mix of guilty and gleeful.
Yes, they were pretty but did I really need another three dresses. Okay, I bought four. And no, I didn’t need any of them.
So, I was heartened to learn about the Festival for Good happening in Singapore this weekend. In its third year, the pop-up market and showcase for social enterprises capitalises on an interesting opportunity: leverage on my generation’s consumerism as a tool to push business to do good.
Call it profit with a purpose. As a consumer, if I insist that the brands I buy are socially conscious and held accountable — every dollar I spend is now an incentive for that brand to do even better. This also means my frivolous spending is having a positive impact. Somewhere.
Basically, social enterprises are business entities that look to achieve positive social outcomes and see these outcomes and goals as integral to their purpose.
Social enterprises don’t eschew profits and they don’t seek donations; they look to achieve positive results while remaining viable businesses.
One my favourite examples is Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh because bak kut teh is delicious and because Soon Huat’s is particularly good and because they go out of their way to provide employment opportunities to young offenders who would otherwise struggle to find work.
Providing real and competitive products to real customers while doing good — it is a compelling idea and one that has some advantages over traditional charities in terms of sustainability.
The Singapore government is certainly very keen on the model, believing social enterprises can deliver change while staying true to the country’s growth-focused “no handouts” ethos.
It’s an interesting idea; capitalism with a conscience achieving what NGOs and charities can’t.
I certainly think social enterprises can have a major positive impact but for that to happen and for the movement to grow beyond a small number of outliers, two things need to happen:
1. Major companies need to get on board. We need to see the world and Singapore’s businesses make social causes more integral to their businesses — whether that’s adopting patches of forest or working to provide job opportunities for the marginalised, the richest and biggest corporations should be taking the lead.
2. People need to understand that social enterprises aren’t simply charities — and that extremely high-quality products can bring about positive social impact. Basically, we need to be willing to understand, demand and spend on socially beneficial items.
Research indicates that a high proportion of the millennial generation do in fact want to buy from companies that have purpose, sustainability and environmental stewardship built into their ethos.
This represents a vast amount of purchasing power. However, again, it can’t be a marketing slogan or a quick fix.
The classic fudge “oh, we donate XX per cent to charity” isn’t enough. Corporations need to put real thought and effort into the outcomes they want to achieve and, of course, while making positive impact in one place they can’t be busily polluting and exploiting somewhere else.
It doesn’t matter how many Colin Kaepernick ads Nike puts out if they are using sweatshops to make their “woke” shoes.
It will be a long journey from cut-throat capitalism to a world where companies are leading the charge to sustainability and equality, but it is not impossible and I’m happy the Singapore government is taking real steps to support enterprise-driven change.
The Festival for Good will bring together people, products and services geared to bringing about change and present them to your everyday consumer allowing them (i.e. people like me) to do what they do best: browse, shop and eat while doing something for the broader community.
Eat, drink and buy your way to a better society... now that’s something I can get behind.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
