Supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
The 2030 goal for global sustainability was adopted by the United Nations member states in 2015. It outlines a roadmap for peace and prosperity for the world and its inhabitants. There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) which have been created as an urgent call for action to unite us globally and strive toward a better future, one that aims to end poverty and inequality, improve education, health, and economic growth - all at the same time as overcoming climate change and preserving our oceans and forests.
At Believe In Kind we are building our social enterprise to be as closely aligned to the SDG philosophy as we can, with 6 key ones in mind:
Goal 1: No Poverty
The work we do here is helping women overcome abject poverty and real struggle. When you support an enterprise like Believe In Kind, you’re enabling people to become self-sufficient, independent and to fight poverty to be able to live more fulfilling and longer lives.
The women artisans making the products for Believe In Kind are desperate to provide hope and a chance at a better life for their children and are using their talents to earn a fair wage for their craft.
Goal 5: Gender Equality
Violence and mistreatment of women still exists at unacceptably high levels and has only been intensified during the pandemic. One in three women (736 million) has been subject to physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. These are the harsh realities of life for women and girls across the world and particularly in under developed countries.
The women that make the products for Believe In Kind are working incredibly hard to fight gender inequality, to put an end to the suffering their mothers faced in order to give them (and their daughters) the best start in life. Working women are an inspiration to others and are putting the wheel of momentum in motion for others to follow. At Believe In Kind, women are empowering women - it’s the heart of our ethics here.
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
The economy is on a long journey of recovery after the pandemic, with 255 million full time jobs having been lost and international tourist arrivals dropping from 1.5 billion to just 381 million; the global economy has suffered on a grand scale.
Believe In Kind offers working artisans a chance to boost their local economy, earn a fair wage and innovate beyond sales of Ugandan products to tourists, taking stunning hand crafted artisanal goods online to reach a global audience. The work brings both income and hope, a decent wage and dignity, encouraging the Buhoma community of western Uganda to move forward with pride and strength and to withstand unforeseen global phenomena such as lockdowns and border controls. Believe In Kind is working to drive awareness of need, beautiful goods and demand helping to keep women in work and profits allow this social enterprise to grow and continually innovate helping continue and protect future income.
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Communities across developing countries have suffered vastly as a result of the pandemic. With a rapid halt to tourism, sectors which rely heavily on this market for income have fallen into poverty. Building sustainable communities cannot be achieved through charitable giving alone; they need to be able to support themselves through skilled and fairly paid work and be empowered to drive themselves forward.
With our sustainability commitment, here at BIK our goal is to provide work and growing opportunities on the ground in Buhoma, Uganda and beyond and for skilled artisans to start reaping the rewards of their hard work to the benefit of the whole community.
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Between 2000 and 2017 the global “Material Footprint” rose by 70%. There are on average 1 million plastic drinking bottles purchased every minute and 5 trillion single-use plastic bags thrown away each year. Developing countries have so much untapped potential for renewable energy and so much scope to improve standards and responsibility for the climate battle against pollution.
We take responsibility of production and consumption seriously here at Believe In Kind. We can no longer afford to be a throwaway society, we need to make a conscious effort to change our consumer behaviours and do our bit to help drive change. We go to considerable lengths to ensure our packaging and promotional materials are all responsibly sourced and produced, and that we offer products that can be re-used over and over, not simply used once and disposed of. It is time for change in the way the world views consumption and production, and we are all for being part of that shift.
Goal 13: Climate Action
We’re all painfully aware of how the planet is suffering due to climate change and vast pollutants humans generate. Greenhouse gas emissions have exponentially risen over the last 100 years and there simply isn’t time left to ignore the facts. According to scientists, global emissions should be cut to 45 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre -industrial levels. Emissions from developed countries were approximately 6.2 % lower in 2019 than in 2010, while emissions from 70 developing countries rose by 14.4 % in 2014.
Being climate aware and responsible is something we take seriously at Believe In Kind. We have done our utmost to source responsibly and make sure our products arrive to you with the smallest Carbon footprint possible. Our packaging suppliers use recycled and/or eco-friendly material, we have sourced plastic-free stickers and we work with One Tree Planted, to plant trees as we grow our social enterprise.
We are proud to support these 6 UN SDGs and will continue to use this framework to guide our development and growth and encourage and engage with the conscious buyer. By buying products from us, you too are helping support these 6 goals, and most critically a group of wonderful women who are pushing for a better future and a happier Earth.
References:
