6 Under-Appreciated Reasons To Shop Local That Made Us Laugh
We all know shopping local usually means better quality, and better for the environment and community, but this season try on these new reasons.
There are a LOT of reasons we should shop with local, independent businesses.
It’s better for the environment — stuff travels less distance and local businesses are more likely to reuse and recycle materials. It’s better for the economy — local businesses use less tax money, make more jobs, and keep more money in the local community.
But there’s also a whole host of underappreciated reasons to buy local. Here’s six of those…
1. Cool stories to tell at parties.
Person At A Party: “Woah — I love that hat”
You: “Thanks, I got it at this local shop in my neighborhood. The owner is so cooky. She’s been there since the 70’s and while I was checking out she told me this wicked story about the all-night underground discos she used to go to. I have to take you to meet her sometime.”
2. Good excuses to put get offline for a hot second.
Social Media: Hey! Be on me all the time and compare your life to other people’s and also never leave your house!
Local Shop: Hey real human, here’s a small and manageable selection of items from which to choose from and also welcome to the outside world!
3. Feel-good memes, but IRL
You know those feel good memes where one person does something small and nice and it totally makes a big difference in someone else’s life and you read about it on Facebook and then you cry a little? That’s totally like shopping local! One sale can make a local business owners’ whole day.
A lot of local businesses operate on a razor-thin margin and it doesn’t take many customers to help them break even and feel the support they need to keep going. Buying that fabulous new table for your dining room basically makes you a hero.
4. It’s like, totally retro.
Did you know people used to leave their houses to buy things ALL THE TIME? And did you know they would go to different places to buy produce, dairy, meat, clothes, shoes, paper, etc.? Did you know they usually knew the people who made the things they bought? Experience this totally retro (and therefore hipster certified cool) experience by shopping at small, local businesses. *For added fun, dress up in vintage clothes and bring baskets and wooden boxes to carry your wares home.
5. Total world neighborhood domination.
Shopping local helps you control your neighborhood. It keeps small cute businesses (and small cute business owners!) in business and helps keep large chain stores (which drive down property values, suck up taxpayer money, and probably secretly make mean faces at your cat) out of town.
Shopping local also gives you a HUGE amount of control over the stuff you have available to you. Huge chain stores buy in bulk for the whole country. Small local shops buy for their select group of customers. Don’t see a book you want at your local bookshop / cafe? Ask them to order it for you and bask in your demi-god like power!
6. Stick it to the man.
When we buy from each other, keep our resources in our community, support entrepreneurs who are marginalized and under-supported, we don’t need (and aren’t as capable of being controlled by) the big, bad, forces in power.
We build relationships that help make our community more resilient in the face of economic and environmental instability. We are more connected with each other, the items and services that we consume, and the vast creativity that is possible when we don’t try to do a one-size fits all approach to life. It’s one of the most radical and awesome things we can do to change our world.
Convinced and ready to shop local?
We’ve got an awesome directory of small, independently owned, local businesses that you can support! And we’d love to add your business to the list too.
Click here to submit your business to the directory.
Got another under-appreciated reason to shop local? Share it in the comments below!
Originally published at worththejourney.com on November 29, 2018.
