Ethos Mag

Project type: words, films, website, social media, campaigns, digital, magazines/newspapers, branding

Print run: 1,000 per issue

Back in 2014 we were approached by the Social Enterprise Network, which proposed launching a newspaper for social enterprise in Liverpool – something along the lines of the City Tribune. The aim was to empower and grow the social enterprise community in Liverpool, helping connect enterprises and strengthen the community itself.

But we had bigger plans.

We realised that we wanted to do more than just talk to the social business sector. We wanted everyone to realise that business can be good (as well as bad) – and that everywhere you look there are businesses doing great stuff.

So, we set about finding and reporting on some of the best social enterprises, innovators and co-operatives from across the globe, to see if there were ideas and practices that could be implemented by readers far and wide.

Initially online, and eventually in magazine form, we created Ethos.

Ethos grew and evolved quicker than we imagined, and before long it was time to raise funds to support the print run for Ethos issue one. Through a successful Indiegogo campaign (fuelled by blood, sweat, and tea) we managed to make the magazine a reality, and have produced a further 20 issues, with readers all over the globe from Aberdeen to Arkansas, Uttoxeter to Utrecht.

We’ve covered sectors from eco farming in Germany to community-owned football clubs in Spain, or the forward-thinking practices of household names like Lego.

Alongside the print side of Ethos lies Ethos Films. Our films go hand-in-hand with the written content, giving us another way to tell stories, picking up nuances and feelings that you sometimes can’t get across in an article. Ethos Films champion the local heroes making a difference, and showcase their work and their beliefs in a way that may have gone un-noticed by their communities in the past.

THE LATEST ISSUE - ETHOS 22

Ethos 22, like the theme of this issue, is powered by people. People from far and wide (adventure coordinators from Finland and pumpkin farmers from Bangladesh) and close to home (the staff-owned organisation, Lunya, down the road!).

People like François Brunelle and his globally distant doppelgangers, or Fritz Hansen, once an experienced cabinet maker and now a Danish design company celebrating its 70th birthday, and Maria Amelie, CEO and co-founder of AI fact-checker, Factiverse. This issue is a culmination of creativity, connection and community; containing good stories, good people, and Good Tuesday (a female-led stationary brand in the UK).

Ethos 22 is what happens when people pool their powers together; cities become swimmable, festivals become sustainable and workplaces become progressive. Our magazine is an open book – much like The Open Book, a bookshop-based Airbnb in Scotland – capturing the essence of being human. It’s a co-operative effort; where you’ll find the efforts of the Co-op in reducing food waste; where the platform, Fixable, makes repair and reuse accessible; where women lead AI. Within these pages you’ll find awareness of UTIs, origins of idioms, edible algae, B-Corp football teams and ethical underwear. A pick ‘n’ mix of people power.

And just like this issue’s cover story, you’ll find that Ethos 22 – is Lush. Trust us, trust your gut, trust Eugene Sadler-Smith (author of Trust Your Gut, an academically-backed book about intuition); this issue is a powerful one, people. Order your copy today!