Three Social Enterprises Making an Impact in their Communities

Preserve is a highly successful Waltham, Massachusetts based social enterprise that has been making a difference on the ground for nearly two decades. Preserve, founded by Eric Hudson, is an environment friendly enterprise that sells home and personal care products made from recycled plastic. Over the years, Preserve has developed innovative recycled and recyclable products such as disposable razors, toothbrushes and kitchenware for retailers such as Whole Foods and Target.

Preserve won Forbes.com's 2007 contest called "Boost Your Business." Hudson says, "There has been, over the last 20 years, a recognition from owners that doing good business is good business. Being a company that is considerate of the resources they consume, the emissions they cast off, the waste they create, or the waste they stop from being created is highly regarded."

City Feed and Supply is another enterprise with a social conscience, just like Preserve. Founded in 2000 by David Warner and his wife Kristine, the enterprise operates as a locally sourced grocery, café and deli from two locations in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Ever since the company was established, it has championed social causes in the community and sponsored dozens of local organizations.

Warner says about his business, "In terms of being a sustainable and a progressive-minded business, one of the most important impacts you can have is the one you make on your neighbors. That small-scale community interaction…is the greatest satisfaction I get from running this business." City Feed has been voted "Business of the Year" for 2011 by Boston Main Streets, and a "Good Neighbor" by the Summer Hill Association.

Bootstrap Compost is a relatively new social enterprise in the Boston area, which operates as a bicycle-fueled kitchen scrap pickup service. Its founder Andy Brooks says that he became a social entrepreneur with the aim to earn a steady income, while making a meaningful contribution to the community at the same time. The idea of creating a business that would help the city reduce its wastefulness appealed strongly to him. The enterprise currently serves over 200 Boston residents, each of who receive a portion of the resulting compost, and donate the surplus to community gardens in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury.

Photo Credit: iprole