Find a Present with a Purpose this Festive Season

Last December we launched the Buy Social Scotland initiative and ethical gift directory to help you find gifts that give back and support local communities in Scotland in the lead-up to Christmas. Purchasing products, experiences and gift cards from social enterprises is a win-win, it helps you find a thoughtful gift for a loved one and supports the work of organisations that deliver social and environmental impact for people and the planet.

This festive season is another opportunity to purchase presents with a purpose and we are delighted to be running this campaign again, this time for 8 weeks starting October 26th until December 21st.

We have updated the gift directory with 170+ local, ethical and sustainable small gifts with a big impact. Whether you're looking for arts and crafts, children's gifts, clothing and accessories, food and drink, health and beauty, home and garden, sport and wellbeing, experiences, or gift cards, we've got you covered with hundreds of thoughtful and original gifts that give back from great organisations.

At a time when retailers are warning us they are battling supply chain issues, if you're thinking of starting your festive shopping early, remember shopping social and local is a great way to make a difference. Whether you're looking for something new or upcycled, there is something for every taste and every budget on the site and we will be adding new gifts throughout the Christmas campaign.

The past two years have seen dramatic changes in the way we live our lives. The very idea of what is important and what is not has come into question, and this debate has had a marked impact on consumer shopping habits as more of us start to question how businesses and the economy work for us, and how our lives are impacted by them along the way.

Social enterprises are organisations that place purpose before profit and whose trading income goes to tackle a wide range of communities to help them tackle key social and environmental issues that affect them. Trading for people and planet, they reinvest most or all of their profits for positive change, supporting those in need and helping to keep local places thriving.

While there are social enterprises in every community across Scotland, awareness of them among consumers is still a recurring issue! When we asked Scottish residents who had not purchased from a social enterprise in the last year why this was the case, 46% of them highlighted that it was because they didn’t know social enterprise organisations to buy from.

This is something that we would love to change!

We hope that the Buy Social Scotland ethical gift directory is a helpful resource to help you find great organisations that deliver a positive impact and we would love for you to share the word about it to friends, family and colleagues to encourage others to buy social and choose presents with a purpose.

Thank you for supporting the great work of social enterprises across Scotland and spending your pounds for purpose. Together, we can all make a change.