Sponsor an Entrepreneur!

Anne and I have many ideas. BIG ideas. We do not however have the DOLLAR$. It feels funny to request more hours at the bar to fund our projects when it appears to me that there is an abundance of wealthy businesses and individuals in our city. The 2009 Toronto Vitality Report ( http://www.tcf.ca/newsandpublications/publications.html) indicated that the city remained to be the second wealthiest in Canada. Wouldn't it be logical for small community oriented initiatives, such as Local Buttons, to be considered by private organizations and individuals as investment partners? What's exciting is the increasing number of such opportunities! Anne and I are searching them out...

We have come across a number of funding opportunities, one of which has been the Toronto Community Foundation (TCF). TCF has brought some really impressive projects to my attention. Michael Prosserman founded Urban Non-Violent Initiatives Through Youth (UNITY). His work has been recognized by TCF and he has since received a Vital People grant towards fundraising, management, and leadership courses as well as practical training with a mentor in the not-for profit sector. Check out his impressive bio at: http://www.tcf.ca/newsandpublications/michaelprosserman.html Congratulations Michael! I feel the followingbreakdance video, Agincourt After School Battle!, shows the power of creative solutions to community challenges. Check out the talent at: http://www.unitycharity.com/dance/video/agincourt-after-school-battle-2009-promo-clip

When I lived in São Paulo I was introduced to the founders of Zumaluma, a hip-hop group who formed to make social and environmental change in their community. Their enormous efforts had rewarded them with a community centre out of which they held creative workshops for youth and adults. The support they received in material and financial resources contributed to their success. With no contributions the success of their project would not have grown at the fast rate that it did. The community centre they created is worth viewing here: http://essory.blogspot.com/2009/11/coletivo-zumaluma.html. Just scroll down and it's the first video in the column at the bottom left. Complementary collaborations have so much potential! Any time that I have been part of a collaborative effort or had a mentor the experience has been very valuable. As far as my experience with Local Buttons goes our partnership withBrandaid and aspiring artists has been priceless. And partnerships are far more interesting than working alone...

We will keep you posted on the opportunities Local Buttons pursues. Again, we have BIG IDEAS;)

Our Very First Business Trip

This week we took our first business trip. I know, I know, we're kind of a big deal now. The fact that this meeting was only in Barrie and at my Aunt's house is besides the point. The meeting was both figuratively and literally poignant as we really learned a lot, but it also gave us much needed confident boost. Together with my Aunt, we spent the greater part of Monday learning about how to create social media connections via the digital world.

Funny that we spent the day studying creating connections when Sway and I had a 'mis-connection' on our way to Barrie when we ended up at different bus stations causing us to miss our bus. No loss there, when we finally met up we simply grabbed a coffee and wandered the mall aimlessly commenting on how easy it is to buy in Malls, yet how unrewarding it feels, and if only there were a way to make ethical purchasing as readily available as mall purchasing.

Upon arriving in Barrie, after eating a delicious concoction including fruit, nut butter and hard boiled eggs-somehow it all worked, we set to work. My Aunt was a fantastic teacher, and soon Sway and I felt as though we were social media experts. We successfully linked our twitter, blog, facebook like page and linkedin accounts together. Now the whole world can listen to us tweet to our hearts desire through any number of forms of technology.

It may seem weird, and rightly so, that we are using conventional media tools to promote unconventional, or alternative purchasing markets. In and ideal world we would use some form of alternative communication network to message. Well really, in an ideal world there would be no need to promote our message because everyone would already be pursuing these markets. There would be no need to strive for justice and equity through our purchases because it would be second nature to treat everyone respectfully and fairly. Of course I am often heavily accused of being an idealist and hopefully optimistic.

I always retort with the same response. The world needs both idealists and realists to exist and move forwards. As long as my ideals do not turn into ideology which becomes fanatical and extremist then I think I am fine.

So, as the world is not quite ideal yet, we are making due with these rather unconventional conventional means of promoting Local Buttons. It's kind of letting us feel as though we are pseudo-computer geeks. A luxury we had not previously experienced. We invite, and I dare to even say encourage you, to follow us on twitter:

http://twitter.com/LocalButtons

and join our facebook page :

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Local-Buttons/129827623703073

Beyond all this social media, this cross linking of tweets and 'liking' we are further developing who and what Local Buttons is and where we hope to go. We cannot divulge everything yet, where would the mystery be in that? But here is a little more information on us as an organization.

Mission Statement:

Local Buttons is a not-for profit organization comprised of Consuelo McAlister and Anne Pringle, two social entrepreneurs advocating for sustainable enterprise. Co-founders Consuelo and Anne are innovators and environmentalists working to incorporate ethics, environmentalism, human rights and fair labour standards into global capitalism.

We believe in creating positive change through an awareness of the purchasing decisions we make and the consequences these decisions have both locally and globally. We believe in a grassroots approach and seek to promote small business to create sustainable communities.

Through collaborations and partnerships, Local Buttons strives to expose and make readily available ethical alternative purchasing markets within the Toronto community, in essence creating avenues for conscientious consumption.

What we do:

We advocate for social change through ethical purchasing markets. We strive to recognize and promote local initiatives around the world. Local Buttons seeks to partner with local communities around the world to create real connections between producers and consumers.

The aim of the connections are:

-to create a market which is mutually beneficial to the producer, buyer, and retailer

-to promote and advocate for real Corporate Social Responsibility

-to create a collaboration of global artisan communities

-promote greater interactions within our local community

-to build stronger communities

Consumer Coma

I often find myself at a loss as to how to make ethical purchases. In a city where everything is available at any time one would think making informed and conscious purchases would be easy. Not to be dramatic about it, but let me tell you, it is not. We can avoid big box stores or huge conglomerates with the expectations that the small store we purchase from will have more ethical products. Often, again with the drama, this is not the case. It takes great research and awareness to ensure we are purchasing the most ethical item, in terms of fair labour, environmental standards and ensuring both human and animal rights are respected. It seems like at times that everything we purchase is somehow, blatantly or inadvertently contributing to a world order that keeps the rich richer and the poor poorer. While I frequently feel as though I am traveling up stream without a paddle attempting to create change, I am comforted by the amount of individuals and initiatives that exist in a pursuit to combat corporate greed. These following paragraphs are simply my rant on what I believe needs to be changed.

It is no secret that major corporations exploit natural resources and labour around the world. The recent BP oil spill killing animals and plants and all but wiping out the fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico is a prime example of a corporate conglomerate not taking responsibility for their actions and their consequences. Yet this is not unique to BP. For decades now we have heard the horrific stories of exploitation from around the world. For example communities in Bolivia being pushed off the land and denied their rights as companies like Shell search for oil. People living in the Niger Delta are some of the poorest in the world, yet they inhabit a land rich with oil in which others profit from the fruits of their land. We are aware that young children in Bangladesh are currently working under horrific conditions for hours on end for a meager wage so that they can contribute in a small way to their families earnings,and provide us with cheap clothing we can purchase from H&M. In our province of Ontario, probably as you are reading this, male migrant workers from Mexico are working long hours for less than minimum wage with no benefits. They are living in cramped quarters for months with other migrant workers so that they can return to Mexico, once the tomato crops have been harvested, to their families with their meager savings-no chance for immigration for these men.

In correlation with this exploitation of land and labour, the expansion of corporations have led to a stagnation in artisan communities. According to the United nations, over the past thirty five years the number of artisans in India have decreased by thirty percent. In our Toronto community one cannot help but notice the growing number of chains and their expansion throughout the city and the suburbs. These multiplications result in the closure of smaller, localized shops. There continues to be sectors of the community which resist this change, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to search out ethical alternatives.

If these stories of injustice are all so common and well known why do these human and environmental atrocities continue to happen? We can scream Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) all we like, and I am right there with you. Large companies have the greatest power to create large scale, significant change, to adopt fair and holistic practices so that producer, consumer and shareholder all benefit mutually from the relationship. Corporations need to change. This change needs to be sincere and transparent. As a consumer we should not be duped into thinking we are buying a product that is 'green' or 'fairly' made only to discover later that the product was not as green or fair as the company alluded. Simply put, the average consumer does not have the time to thoroughly research each purchase, especially if there are constant attempts made to sway the truth. It is the duty and the responsibility of the corporation to adequately and honestly represent their brand.

Unfortunately as it stands right now CSR is all based on a voluntary basis. That is not to say that some companies are not adopting real, ethical practices, because they are. However, there are not adequate monitoring bodies to aid the everyday citizen, to ensure that they are purchasing from an ethically run company. Green washing by Clorox is a perfect example. Clorox has created a line called 'Green Works'. They do not specify exactly what is in their product, but rather that it is a 'green' product. IF you are a busy, working individual and you enter your local grocery store and see a product labeled green, chances are you are going to believe this. And why shouldn't you? In a day and age where information is always at a click of button why is it that CSR has not become mandatory, and in fact a legal aspect to creating a corporation?

As a side note, Clorox has bought out Burt's Bees. This blew my mind. An organic, natural company owned by a bleach company? Seems a little contradicting don't you think?

Corporations are essentially thought of as people under the law, so should they not then have to abide by the same rules? To be responsible for their actions? To treat others as they would like to be treated? And if their actions create consequences should they not be held accountable to clean up the mess? I believe so.

As stated before, multiple measures have been generated, and new initiative are constantly afoot. The fair trade movement was created to help address the issues of diminishing artisan communities and iniquitous labour standards. Yet it can be argued that fair trade acts simply as piecemeal as it does not create a sustainable long term solution. A business has to pay to be certified fair trade, and the monitoring bodies are not always up to par, allowing companies to 'fair trade wash' if you like. There are many companies that are indeed fair trade through and through and they should not be ignored. However, like CSR when the Fair Trade movement is not adequately audited it allows for a few bad seeds to get through the cracks.

I've exhausted myself here. Obviously CSR should be mandatory, but it's not. How can we change this? I believe the power lays with us, the citizen, not the corporation. While corporations may be viewed as individuals under the law, they are not human. They function for profit. But this does not mean that we, actual human beings, cannot begin to change the way that we interact with corporations. I stated that CSR is important, but that aside, we as the consumer must also claim Personal Social Responsibility for our own actions and decisions. It may be hard to ensure we are buying ethical products, but until we make it an important aspect of our lives, I do not believe corporations will begin to change. Until we are ready to do some work and to change our buying habits, how can we really expect these large conglomerates to change their standards?

I truly believe that as a citizen and therefore either the consumer or producer of goods, we need to give ourselves more credit. We have the power to demand change, to demand responsibility. We can demand this through our purchasing decisions. By choosing to purchase local, to buy Fair Trade, and to buy Green products (with a little research before hand to ensure these products are what they claim to be) we are voting. We are commercially voting, telling companies that we want the products we purchase to be ethical, to respect the rights of others, the earth and our communities.

The End.

Of course I couldn't leave this on a negative note. Here are some links to online guides and websites that keep track of 'ethical companies'. Take a look, hopefully they will provide you with some insight on how to make informed ethical purchases.

The Ethical Company Organization
http://www.ethical-company-organisation.org/the-good-shopping-guide-ethical.htm For

Ethical Investment: Ethical Funds
https://www.ethicalfunds.com/en/Investor/ChangingTheWorld/HowWeWork/Pages/default.aspx

Check out this online magazine Corporate Knights 'The Magazine for Clean Capitalism' http://www.corporateknights.ca/special-reports/63-best-50-corporate-citizens.html

YES! Magazine: Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions
http://www.yesmagazine.org/

New American Dream
http://www.newdream.org/

The Dinner Co-Op!

It amazes me how often preparing my meals stresses me out. And nearly always it's due to time constraints. Rather than taking the time to find recipes and shop for ingredients I catch myself in idle thought of how I have developed this tiresome relationship to food. I may have been idle, but I have come to some conclusions. I've identified some bad habits that are hard to break. As a university student for four years meal preparation was never my priority. I always ate on the go except for the few potluck dinners I'd have with friends where we'd set aside a couple hours to cook together. However the wine, beer, and cocktails usually remained the focus. The demands of school, jobs, and the necessity of a social life overruled the time and effort needed to prepare food. The kind of lifestyle university life creates is its own problem to be tackled.

Another thing contributing to food-prep-stress is the time I think it takes away from doing other things. I feel I already do not spend enough time getting physical exercise, working on my business, exposing myself to cultural and recreational activity, or seeing my friends. Yet I'm confused with my feelings because food remains to be one of the most important sources of energy. I could not enjoy any of the other activities without nourishment. At a time when food quality is declining rapidly and global food markets are monopolized to fabricate scarcity and artificial prices I should never feel "food is taking up too much of my time". Such sentiments only support impulse buys from commercial sources that reproduce systems of inequality.

A third realization I came to was that I was overwhelmed. I was telling myself that I needed to have three meals planned and prepared for each day. Where there may be a point in my life that provides time for that (I'll have grey hair!?), it is definitely not feasible now. I have realized the secret for me is to have certain ingredients on hand, the ones I replenish as I run out. This strategy has eliminated the necessity to cook large portions to be stretched over the week. Because the truth is I get sick of the same bean salad or squash soup if I'm eating it all week.

As I am a restless soul it is important that my diet is not limited to the same food all the time. This is where I incorporate YOU into my food strategy. I would like you to help me develop the Dinner Co-Op! The Dinner Co-OP is one of the latest editions to the Button Collective and falls in the category of Lifestyle, along with the Cookie Project and a number of other projects Anne and I are excited to bring to your attention soon.

When I think of a dinner party a number of things come to mind. In good company I feel at my best. I feel connected to a community. I always learn something from the conversations had, and I physically feel my body release stress. I loosen up and indulge a little more in the food and yet always feel better than if I'd limited my self to a "reasonable" portion. It has been explained to me that good mood and laughter improves our digestion! I have hosted a couple dinners now and am addicted to what an affordable gift to my friends and family can reap in terms of the priceless rewards the night returns. Despite the extra cake I ate, I still feel great the next day. And something someone said is still making me laugh or has me in search of a book that was mentioned.

I encourage you to invite one or a few guests to your place for dinner on a day that you arrange and as often as you feel you can comfortably manage. Recruit a co-host to appease your nerves! Have different guests over weekly! Not only will you have simultaneously built in a time to clean house but you will have a legitimate excuse to buy elaborate and local ingredients, and spend several hours preparing them amidst great tunes. If you mention the Dinner Co-Op the idea might catch on and before you know you'll be going to as many dinner parties this summer as you're preparing..or more!
If you try this, or are already doing it, share your experiences in the space provided below for comments. Do I detect a potential portal for recipe swaps?