Edinburgh shoppers get the inside story on socially aware gifting

Shoppers in the Capital are being urged to switch on to social gifting, as well as social distancing, as the festive season approaches.

The Christmas hamper from Edinburgh-based social enterprise Social Stories Club

With the launch of its Keep Social Enterprises Flourishing campaign, Edinburgh-based Social Stories Club is providing much-needed support to small businesses whose products support social ventures at home and around the world

Working in collaboration with ten social enterprises - eight of them based in the Lothians - they have created three ‘socially impactful’ Christmas gift boxes, available now to pre-order online.

“It might seem a long while off until Christmas, but these companies need long lead times to create these inspiring products and we would like to encourage the public to buy social this Christmas,” says co-founder Karis Gill.

Karis and Aayush Goyal, a fellow Edinburgh University business graduate, set up SSC in 2018 with the aim of sourcing sustainable gifts created by people from less fortunate backgrounds. They now run the business with the help of like-minded student Natalie Forsyth.

“This year has been tough on all of us, but what people don’t always see is that it’s the smaller businesses that have been really struggling as grants have been cancelled and sale production times have been lengthened,” adds Karis.

The boxes - containing a surprises selection of artisan products such as chocolate, coffee and candles - cost £35 (small), £50 (medium) or £100 for a large hamper.

Ventures supported by the social enterprises involved include a homelessness project in Edinburgh, another providing anti-mosquito soap to communities in Malawi and Rwanda and a candle-making business that gives female refugees access to work in Scotland. Orders can be placed at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/socialstoriesclub

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