2014 Ethical Enterprise Award finalists announced

The finalists for the 2014 Ethical Enterprise Award have been announced, recognising a range of businesses and enterprises that have delivered positive impact and a healthy bottom line throughout their ethical trade practices. According to Moral Fairground CEO Susanna Bevilacqua, ethical enterprise within Australia is “thriving”, with conservative estimates placing the number of social enterprises at around 20,000.

The award, which was co-founded by Moral Fairground and Australian Ethical, will bestow the winner with national recognition in addition to a variety of prizes, including advertising and business development opportunities. 2014 finalists include:

• The Dharma Door - Fair-trade homewares and lifestyle products making a positive impact through trade.
• Eternal Creation - Fair-trade fashion brand with a transparent and ethical manufacturing process.
• etiko - Ethically made, eco-friendly clothing, footwear and sports gear.
• Mission Australia - Generating positive impact through employment opportunities for people excluded from the open labour market and reduction of state-wide mattress waste.
• Seven Women - Sustainable enterprise with programs focusing on literacy, skills training and employment that socially and economically empowers marginalised women.
• STREAT - A social enterprise that provides homeless and disadvantaged young people aged 16-25 years with a supported pathway from the streets to a career in the hospitality industry.

Winners will be announced on 19 November in conjunction with Moral Fairground’s inaugural Ethical Enterprise Conference. The conference has been tailored to provide small to medium-sized ethical enterprises with tools to operate successfully in the field of social, ethical or fair-trade business.

“The Ethical Enterprise Award is a crucial tool in dispelling the myth that to have positive impact you have to shed your profitability,” said Paul Smith from Australian Ethical. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”