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Buying locally to be an ethical shopper
Caitlin Chock | Thursday 12th November 2009
 When thinking about how you can be a more ethical shopper, it is worth noting that it comes down to more than simply finding products that don't cause harm to the environment. While green living is a hot trend, and thankfully catching on, another aspect that can be considered is how buying locally can help your local economy and your community. Being that there are are a lot of terms thrown around today, such as buying locally, sustainable products, grass-roots companies, and organics, the simple trip to the market or store can leave you a bit confused.The principle of buying locally is that you are supporting farmers and tradesmen in your direct area. Instead of buying products that are shipped either over land or over seas, you are buying directly from the source. The benefits of this is everything from cutting down on the amount of gas emissions produced when a truck drives across states to deliver your food, to helping the state of your local economy. By giving business to the little Mom and Pop stores you are helping bolster your community and in turn helping the little men struggling to stay in business against the top corporations. The economic times are tough on everyone, especially the small businesses and many of them are finding themselves struggling to stay afloat. They simply can't compete with the larger business and are being driven out of business themselves, and left without income. In addition to simply helping your neighbor and receiving a more personal experience in your shopping, buying locally also reduces the amount of packaging waste. This is because often there is less processing local products go through as they aren't shipped very far. The best way to buy local is at a farmer's market or checking to see what stores carry locally grown foods because the biggest source of local business is in produce and other farmed products. Meats, fruits, and vegetables are great ways to help support the local economy, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy from other smaller shops and small businesses. These outlets are generally the one or two shop kind, instead of the chains or mass merchandisers. As I noted, times are tough for everyone, and the sad fact is that the bigger corporations are usually able to sell us the same goods for less money. This means that being a more ethical shopper could be a little pricier, but it is still worth thinking about. Perhaps you can buy locally on a few items worth spending a little more on; you will know exactly where they came from and you will also have the benefit of knowing that you helped out a neighbor of your community stay in business. |
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Tex Dworkin 22 November 2009 Thanks for covering this topic! Great thing about buying from locally owned businesses is that the money tends to stay within the local economy more than when you buy from big box stores.
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