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Oregon Coast Intn'l DancersA fun recreational dance group offering low impact, heart-healthy exercise.
Buy Local
Buying local is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint. Food that is grown or raised locally will be fresher and results in fewer fossil fuels being burned in transportation to your area. Additionally, all the extra packaging and cooling needed to transport food products long distances creates more pollution (that is, pollution is created both in the manufacturing of packaging products as well as landfill being polluted by the discarded packaging).
It's not just about food, though. It turns out that buying local products improves your local economy. By purchasing local products, you help to make your community a more prosperous and healthy place to live. When you buy items at a big box store that were produced overseas, it contributes to the further loss of American jobs and means that less money goes to your schools, fire departments, police departments etc. We decide what kind of community we want every time we take out our wallets.
A comparative Economic Impact Analysis was done in Austin, TX (a city similar in many ways to Eugene) assessing the economic impacts of three different, freestanding stores: BookPeople, Waterloo, and a typical Borders Bookstore. It found that: "For every $100 in consumer spending at Borders, the total local economic impact is only $13 [profit to the community]. The same amount spent with a local merchant yields more than three times the local economic impact." [1]
The study summed up the following points:
- Locally owned stores typically feed more of their profits back into a community since the owners there and purchase within the local economy (instead of funneling profits back to a national headquarters and to international shareholders).
- Local employers typically pay higher wages than large box stores, further stimulating local economies.
- Local businesses purchase more goods and services within their local economy than chain stores (advertising, marketing, bookkeeping, office supplies, raw materials etc).
- Local businesses are more likely to donate money back to their community.
- Chain stores may divert as much as 50% of revenue away from locally owned stores.
- Chain stores very often receive subsidies and discounts for locating in cities (unfairly competing with local stores and costing local communities lost revenue).
[1] Study by Civic Economics
www.civiceconomics.com
ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers
Buying locally means:
- You help to improve your local economy
- You help your town to be unique (identical blocks of chain stores don't really promote tourism)
- You help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint
- You help local community groups (since studies show that local merchants are far more likely to contribute to local charities compared to chain stores)
Oregon has many dedicated organizations helping to spread awareness about environmental conservation and sustainability. CultureSource.net is committed to this effort and offers each organization a free expanded listing. We strongly encourage volunteerism and community involvement. Please let us know of any additional groups to include. We have also listed links to worthy organizations outside our area as an additional resource.
