D.E.S. Ethic and social districts: a national supportive economics network

Ethic and social district is a local network, composed of economic subjects, finalized to reinforce and to develop relationships of enterprises that carry out their activity/business inspiring to social and environmental sustainability principles, through economic and social circuit creation where different reality support each other with creation of market space finalized to everyone wellness. Ethic and social district is composed of handmade firms, mutual companies and associations that take care of equal and social commerce, ethic finance and assurance, critical and aware consumer, biological and bio dynamic farming, responsible tourism, renovation energy in a located geographic zone. Enterprises join themselves into a network and play on strong and concrete relation, in local and in small and medium firms contest, suggesting to start and propel their ethic and social activity with the purpose to create interests directed toward an “alternative” economy found on respect and evaluation of human relations and local area. The research objective is the analysis of principle variables and aggregation modality that allow to find a District composed of partners, often, with different institutional finality. It analyses, earlier, peculiar characteristic of Italy economic and social district already present in local area, figure that work in, our history and our interrelation with surrounding area. In particular, after an historical analysis of Italian experience in equal and supportive commerce and in MAG – Mutua auto gestione (’80 years), of supportive purchase groups, ethic costumers and ethic bank (’90 years) we will analyse mean regulations in supportive economics fields (for example Carta Rete Italiana per un Economia solidale, Other Economy principles Chart, European Chart, etc.) and main law (law anti-recycling D.lgv. n° 197/91 and Testo Unico in bank and credit matter L.385/93) that regard financial activities of mutual enterprises. We will proceed, therefore, with analysis of enterprises that allowed birth of Italian supportive economy and that: - Italian active MAG (Torino, Milano, Reggio Emilia, Roma, Verona, Venezia); - Ethic Bank and your role in ethic micro credit and finance; - but, above all, active associations and mutual firms that allowed foundation or found, with initial informal relations, above mention reality and other active all the same in supportive economy. Final objective is highlighting of particular reality, strongly implant to local area and able to guarantee, through strong contacts and personal warrantees, credit and commerce access to non profit enterprises.