#ShopEthicalInstead is a positive alternative to Black Friday - encouraging people to support small, ethical and sustainable businesses throughout the holiday season.

In this episode of the Where Does It Come From? podcast, host Jo Salter chats with Sian Conway-Wood, founder of #EthicalHour and organiser of the #ShopEthicalInstead marketing campaign. #ShopEthicalInstead is now going into its 5th year and is set to be bigger and better than ever!

Throughout November and December, we spend more money than any other time of year on gifts for our loved ones. By simply purchasing those gifts from the good businesses in our community, we can have a positive impact that ripples around our neighbourhoods and through supply chains across the world.

Research shows that approximately 73% of money spent locally stays within the local economy (as opposed to only 43% of money spent at chains). If we want our high streets to thrive and our local communities to be vibrant, diverse places to live, we need to support the SMEs on our doorstep.

Having weathered the pandemic and now entering a cost-of-living crisis, it’s a challenging time for ethical SMEs, but they are still fiercely committed to paying living wage, creating jobs, supporting communities and treading as lightly on the planet as possible.

This year, choose to shop small, vote with your wallet, and #ShopEthicalInstead - because every sale matters to a small business.

Links:

#EthicalHour - https://www.ethicalhour.com

#ShopEthicalInstead - https://ethicalnews.org/home/shop-ethical-instead/

Where Does It Come From? - https://www.wheredoesitcomefrom.co.uk