Top 10 Reasons to Think Local

So why bother shopping local?  Since the whole purpose of this blog is to see (a) if it's still possible to do all our shopping locally; and (b) to raise the profile of all our little & local shops, we thought we should maybe say a bit more about why we think it's important.

For us it's all about being present.  Physically engaging with the people and places that make up our town and our community.  This brilliant manifesto produced by Totally Locally makes us feel happy just reading it.

That's the emotional tug but there's also loads of well-documented and concrete benefits to local shopping.  We found this Top 10 on an American website called Sustainable Connections and to be honest, it says it much better than we could ever hope to do...

1. Buy Local - Support yourself: Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms - continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.
2. Support community groups: Non-profit organisations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses.
3. Keep our community unique: Where we shop, where we eat and have fun - all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit.  “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust
4. Reduce environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
5. Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.
6. Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers. 
7. Invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.
8. Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.
9. Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.  A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
10. Encourage local prosperity: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

It may not always be possible to buy local but we can think local FIRST.  As they put it:

Think local first + Buy local when you can = Being a local!

We couldn't agree more.