News | Eco and Natural Marketplace EthicalCommunity.com Scores Angel Funding

Tuesday 31st January 2012

Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards winners EthicalCommunity.com secure £200,000 of  funding for their fledgling business.

EthicalCommunity.com, a new online marketplace for eco-friendly and natural products, has secured £200,000 investment from a syndicate of business angels aimed at accelerating the growth of the firm whose customer base and product range are already increasing at a rapid pace.

Founded by entrepreneurs Liam Patterson and Jason Dainter in 2009, EthicalCommunity.com has already signed up over 850 sellers from around the world who use the site as a platform to help get their products out to the masses. To date over 7,000 products are for sale ranging from organic t-shirts from eco-fashion designers in London through to Fairtrade coffee direct from Ethiopian farmers in Africa.

 “As well as promoting great products and fantastic causes, the site also enables shoppers and sellers to connect in a very personal way,” says Patterson. “People looking to buy eco-friendly and natural products are often just as interested in the stories behind the products. Who made it? What from and why? These questions were previously difficult to answer when buying online, where shopping can often be a very impersonal transaction.” 

“This is a big problem we feel we are helping to solve with EthicalCommunity.com. Throughout the site shoppers are encouraged to interact with the people behind the products via social networking feeds and videos from sellers filmed directly from their workshops, farms or kitchen tables. There’s also a blogging platform which enables sellers to share their stories, tips and experiences on living a green lifestyle.”

The funding round includes investment from e-commerce pioneer Mary Turner, CEO of smart home technology company AlertMe.com and board member at ASOS.com; digital advertising guru Giuliano Stiglitz, CEO of Orange Advertising Networks; technology venture investor Kelvin Au, and Robert Barnes, founding member of Alchemy Partners.

The business will use its new funding and angel expertise to grow its seller and shopper base, launch a new improved version of the platform in Spring 2012 and continue with its ambitious expansion targets. Says Dainter: “We’ve come a long way with the business but we have big plans, particularly with overseas markets such as the US, Canada and Australia, where eco-friendly products are extremely popular. The investment will give us a tremendous boost in this respect together with our refined marketing and IT efforts. Moreover, we now have a team of successful entrepreneurs on board whose experience and advice will be invaluable in helping us achieve our growth ambitions.”

EthicalCommunity.com is now based in Shoreditch, East London – an area backed by the government campaign “Tech City”. Shoreditch has seen a huge rise in the number of Internet and technology-focused businesses moving to the area, so many that it’s often dubbed “Silicon Roundabout” after San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. Shoreditch has already seen companies such as music site Last.FM and print giant Moo.com take off in a fast growing way, and the EthicalCommunity.com team is pleased to join the club.

For information on how you can become a Shell LiveWIRE Award winner like EthicalCommunity.com visit the Awards page.