Two local social enterprises – Run Native and Gorgie City Farm – are working together in the run up to Christmas in a bid to spread the message that ethical shopping and community enterprise make sense.
Run Native is a collective online marketplace that helps customers find ethical buys and ethical producers find customers, while Gorgie City Farm is a long established farm and family attraction in the heart of the Edinburgh.
Each year Christmas trees are sold at Gorgie City Farm to raise funds for the farm. This year they have teamed up with Run Native to dress a one-off festive tree with hand-crafted hearts sourced from Run Native’s supplier One World Shop, making it the first “heartfelt” tree in Edinburgh.
Run Native Marketing Executive Deborah Rees said: “We are delighted to be working with Gorgie City Farm to highlight our social enterprises this Christmas. The aim is to highlight the difference between us and the high street – all the profits are reinvested back into the community. So, in a nutshell, it’s business with a big heart.”
Deborah added: “Our Run Native online store attracts shoppers from across the UK and beyond with a wide range of luxury goods as well as smaller items to suit all budgets. We make it easy to find cool and covetable products that may be difficult for the average shopper to find on the high street from snowboarding beanies, hand-made macaroons, bespoke furniture with the added benefit that they are supporting and strengthening communities when they shop with us.”
Roz Angus, Manager, Gorgie City Farm, said: “We recognise the benefits of working with other social enterprise businesses like Run Native and getting the ethical message out there that social enterprise is creative and fun. We have been at the heart of the community here for 30 years and like to bring some festive fun to the farm, so the “heartfelt” tree definitely contributed to that.”
