The ethical cleaning business that is shaking up domestic services

Domestic homecare service Bright and Beautiful is celebrating after taking the top prize in the Women in Business category at the 2011 Manchester City Council’s Women’s Awards.

The Awards took place at Manchester Town Hall on 7 October and are a recognition and celebration of the contributions of women working and living within Manchester.

Bright and Beautiful was set up in 2006 by Rachel Ray as a radical, ethical and eco-friendly cleaning business that supports women and their families in the UK and overseas.

Bright & Beautiful founder director Rachel Ray, who lives in Sale, was inspired to set up the company after having worked in international business consultancy for 15 years. Following a career break to have her two children, Rachel wanted to pursue a career that would enable her to combine work and family. Rachel comments: “Residential cleaning really is a recession-proof business and the Bright & Beautiful vision was that it would support and empower women – our clients who need their homes managed; our franchise owners who have a business which can earn a great income but fit within school hours; our team who have fair employment rights and a great working environment and impoverished families that we sponsor overseas."

“We now have 15 franchises operating across the UK including five in Greater Manchester, all of which are run by women who wanted to get more balance in their working lives and to support other women.”

Councillor Suzanne Richards, Lead Member for Women’s Issues, said: "There are so many women who work tirelessly and selflessly to make the lives of others better and there are some women who are excelling in their chosen field. They are the unsung heroes of our society and it is important that we honour and celebrate their achievements.”

A recent report found that a million more people are employing a cleaner compared with a decade ago, as increasingly busy workers decide they need to pay for domestic help (source: thetelegraph.co.uk 1 July 2011). The UK domestic cleaning sector has also grown by a staggering 91% in the last three years, which is largely attributed to the recession and more women going back to work, longer working days and busier single professionals – so help around the home is now far more of a necessity than a luxury.

Bright & Beautiful also support oppressed women and families across the world via a number of charitable programmes, which include:  

• Change4Change - each time a new franchisee comes on board they sponsor a lady to set up a micro-business overseas including Bora Lakshmi, whom Bright & Beautiful provided with a sewing machine so that she can make saris to earn a living for herself and her family.
• Compassion International – B&B sponsors children in different parts of the world, paying for food, clothing and education for children who are orphaned or who live in extreme poverty right through until the age of 18.
• Hope For Justice - who rescue people from human trafficking, which is modern day slavery. This trade in human life is taking place on a vast global scale and is the world’s fastest growing crime.

Bright and Beautiful can be contacted at www.brightandbeautifulhome.com or on 0845 241 0818.
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