‘Tis the season once more to make that Christmas list and indulge loved ones and friends with gifts to bring them good cheer. To keep the holiday tradition of gifting alive and give it extra purpose this year, show homegrown brands some love and shop for items that help you give back to a good cause.
In its fifth year, Globe Business’ Gift Local campaign is putting the spotlight on micro, small and medium local social enterprises that support the livelihood of farmers, local designers, and indigenous communities, as well as those who follow sustainable practices behind every product they put on the shelf. The initiative intends to enable these purpose-led businesses to thrive especially at this time when many Filipinos are affected by unemployment due to the pandemic.
“This year’s campaign aims to bring out the goodness behind each purchase by giving Filipinos the opportunity to choose holiday gifts that give twice the joy — to the recipient and to the local business and community that they benefit,” said KD Dizon, Head of MSME Group, Globe Business.
From artisanal chocolates to virgin coconut oils, skincare essentials to handwoven blankets and towels, here are some of the local brands which offer gifts that will bring joy not only to your loved ones, but also to the little communities these small businesses support.
Malagos Chocolate
One of the most-awarded Filipino tree-to-bar chocolate brands, Malagos Chocolate has a wide collection of premium chocolate made from sustainably-farmed cocoa. Through its Malagos Cacao Development Center, they empower cacao farmers by connecting them to opportunities to help them thrive such as including them in production and marketing agreements, teaching them farm and nursery operations and cacao bean trading.
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HTP Basics
Launched in 2020 as an offshoot of the thriving local fashion brand HTP Clothing, HTP Basics offers a wide range of classic fashion essentials for everyone’s wardrobe. While it carries the same passion for fashion, it is driven by a different purpose—to help its distributors and resellers start their own business by selling high-quality and affordable basic pieces that everyone loves.
Looca Skincare
Looca Skincare boasts a range of products made from gentle, alcohol- and paraben-free ingredients that make for a clean and fun skincare routine. From its labels down to the packaging, everything about the brand is locally made, which means every purchase made helps sustain an ecosystem of small Filipino businesses behind the product. The company is also open for resellers, helping them jumpstart their own business with Looca and its sister brand, HTP Basics’ stable community of customers.
Greenlife Coconut Products Philippines Inc.
Founded by COCOFED scholar Francisco Rubio and his wife, Emelita, Greenlife started as a manufacturing enterprise in 2009. After creating many innovations to the coconut and growing its line of products, it has become a full-blown advocacy to create jobs and sustain the hardworking coconut farmers in the country. Greenlife showcases a wide variety of premium coconut products for cooking and baking.
Locano
Locano offers a beautiful collection of handmade blankets, towels and table runners that showcase the craftsmanship of Filipino artisans. Since its establishment in 2015, Locano continues to work directly with the finest weavers from Vigan and Santa, Ilocos Sur, and Bangar, La Union.
Roots Collective Ph
What began as a co-working space and boutique café along Katipunan in 2016 is now a pioneering community and marketplace of social entrepreneurs that bridges social enterprises and creative startups with consumers and advocates. Its enterprise development programs conduct social enterprise funding, rural community training, and inter-enterprise collaborations. Their shop is a treasure trove of local, social, and sustainable products that are fit for gift-giving this festive season.
Among the participating brands from Roots Collective Ph are BalaiKamay, Hineleban Farms, The Bamboo Company, Chocoloco, Creative Definitions, Gouache, HABI Lifestyle, Happy Helpers, Hiraya Chocolates, Jacinto & Lirio, Magwai, Obrano, The Peanut Butter Junkie, Plantsville Health, Reef Picks, The Spark Project/Spark Books, Theo & Philo Chocolates, and Wholly Grain.
Shoppers may visit the Globe Business Gift Local Page https://glbe.co/giftlocal to check out these products and the communities each of the partner merchants support.
A live selling event is also set on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. via Globe Business Facebook page to provide Gift Local partner merchants a platform to promote their company and products for the holidays.
A merrier season for local MSMEs with Globe Business
Apart from encouraging the public to patronize the products of local MSMEs for holiday gifting, Globe Business continues to support local entrepreneurs with regular activities through Globe Business Academy.
Joining Globe Business Academy once gives them twice the benefit, with access to business insights as well as networking opportunities for their business. They will find value in relevant and practical information to ramp up their businesses. They will also get the chance to expand their network by meeting and interacting with fellow MSMEs in different events hosted by Globe Business. To sign up for free, visit https://mybusinessacademy.ph/sign-up/ .
In addition to this, Globe Business is offering local entrepreneurs more opportunities to scale up their business. MSME owners who want to switch to Globe Business and keep the number they love, can kickstart their business upgrade by getting free Samsung phones for bulk orders. Business owners can also sign up for Globe Business UNLI Fiber Biz Plan 2499 to enjoy equal download and upload speeds, unlimited landline calls to all landline and mobile networks for an additional P59 only, and double customer engagement in a click using M360 solutions.
“As their trusted digital solutions provider, Globe Business is committed to provide local MSMEs relevant and practical digital tools, as well as access to trainings, networking, loyalty programs and services that uplift their businesses and the lives that benefit from their success,” Dizon added.
Globe supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), specifically UN SDG No. 8 which calls for Decent Work and Economic Growth; and No. 9 which emphasizes the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs.