Female-Led Social Enterprise Rebrands to Celebrate 10 Years of Removing Workplace Barriers

Australia has seen a proliferation of eco-orientated refill and sustainability-orientated ventures in recent years, but very few have survived long enough to make a real impact. Even fewer have articulated a vision which links local economic sustainability with wider social change, 

By contrast, LoveLuvo has continued to grow over the past 10 years through compassionate social responsibility and providing a premium retail experience for the local community. This social enterprise ticks many boxes of increasingly relevant consumer desires: providing high-quality locally produced products, which are sustainable and eco-friendly, while providing inclusive employment. To mark their 10th Anniversary this July, LoveLuvo has unveiled a rebrand of their core range, elevating it to a more premium category.

Whilst many of the shop’s hand-made products reflect old-fashioned values, LoveLuvo reinvents the concept via their shop and brand. Through constantly seeking new ways of doing things, new thinking and new partnerships, the shop has become more than the products and services they offer to the public, with a distinct social conscience and concern for people and the environment. 

Social Sector Innovation

While a growing number of Australian shops now offer eco-friendly refills, back in 2011 this was a completely new approach.

“The refill was always THE BIG focus” tells Jacinta Manivong (the brand’s Marketing Manager), speaking of LoveLuvo’s genesis. “The store was in a quiet part of Seddon, Cleanable used the back (Cleanable being the brand’s sister enterprise, focused on commercial cleaning, gardening and property maintenance), and we started selling environmentally friendly cleaning products in response to people coming in and asking. 

“We worked on developing the social enterprises, including the Seddon shop which had simply evolved organically up until that time. Nobody else was doing anything like this at the time – for example, the ply on the walls does not have toxic glue in it – and that was a major point-of-difference which our community really responded to. Alongside our unique and distinctive product offering, and empathy towards people with barriers to employment, we’ve developed a strong and loyal customer base.”

LoveLuvo’s business model is an example of how disparate threads of gender equality, environmental sustainability and social equity can be woven together, providing considerable commercial value to local economies. In the past financial year alone, LoveLuvo has provided:

• over 1,000 hours of paid employment to those facing barriers to employment;
• almost $100,000 of funds reinvested into local business and social enterprise, and;
• saved 2,345 bottles from landfill by refilling 4,690 litres of home and body products.

As a social enterprise, LoveLuvo has successfully developed a business which retails its own in-house eco range alongside other curated locally-made products that are environmentally friendly. Their core range rebrand will allow them to grow, with a new focus on developing business relationships with other ethical ventures in Victoria and wider Australia. 

Diversity & Inclusion

Certified by Social Traders, the shop supports diverse people with barriers to employment, whether that be women finding their way back into the workforce once their kids have started school, or older women in the community who are successfully transcending the stigma of mental illness. 

LoveLuvo and their parent organization Westgate Community Initiatives Group Ltd (WCIG) may be unique in providing such long-term employment to disadvantaged members of the community. While it’s common to see social initiatives provide stopgap employment solutions for people living with a mental health condition. LoveLuvo is the exception – some of the shop’s employees have been employed for up to a decade, and in some cases almost a decade and a half after formerly being employed in Cleanable before transitioning to LoveLuvo.

Preparing to celebrate a decade of success this coming July, LoveLuvo’s recent rebranding of their in-house range furnishes the brand with a strong platform to continue growing.

If you would like to receive a sample pack for review, or with a view towards a co-promotion, giveaway or competition, get in touch and we’ll have one off to you in the post ASAP. 

LoveLuvo is a retail social enterprise based in Seddon, Victoria who stock eco-friendly, locally sourced and fair-trade home and body products. Certified by Social Traders, LoveLuvo was created by Westgate Community Initiatives Group Ltd (WCIG) in 2011 to provide sustainable, paid employment opportunities for people who experience barriers to finding a job, giving people an opportunity to build skills and confidence in a supportive work environment. This commitment to the community stems from LoveLuvo’s central ethos: The good you do comes back to you.
 

Print-ready high res image files available to view and download here: http://bit.ly/LoveLuvo​​​​​​​

If you would like to receive a sample product pack for review, or additional product for a giveaway or competition, get in touch and we’ll send one off to you in the post ASAP. To arrange an interview with someone from the LoveLuvo team, just ask.

Cormac Sheehan
Purpose Communications
Email: cormac@purposecommunications.com.au
Phone: 0416 712 812
 

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