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Toronto, Canada – The Local First
movement, steadily gaining popularity in communities across
North America, aims to give a much-needed boost to our local
independent retailers and producers this holiday season.
Research on the benefits of Local First campaigns shows that
they effectively increase market share for independent business.
Across Canada and the US last year, many local store owners saw
unusual and very welcome sales gains at Christmas as a result of
joining with other independent business owners in their region
to celebrate the benefits of thinking Local First.
"Some people think that local just means location, like the big
box down the street," says Chris Lowry, director of a local,
sustainable business network called Green Enterprise Toronto
(GET). "But local is really all about local ownership that helps
to keep regional economies strong."
"We encourage Toronto residents to support their local BIAs by
shopping locally. By supporting our main streets, we maintain
strong & viable communities. says John Kiru, Executive Director
of TABIA, the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.
TABIA consists of 68 Business Improvement Areas (BIAs)
representing more that 27,000 business and property owners.
"The Local First movement is catching on like wildfire in
communities across North America, and now we are introducing it
to Toronto consumers and retailers," explains Lowry. "More and
more people understand that supporting independent businesses is
essentially voting with your dollars for a healthy local
economy."
Why? Independent businesses are more accountable to customers
and the community, ensure the unique character of a
neighbourhood, are more likely to support local charities and
have greater direct control over the environmental impact of
their businesses.
Supporting independent businesses creates local jobs, preserves
economic diversity, safeguards the environment and contributes
to a just global economy. "We are hearing a lot about the
benefits of shopping for local food and local wines," says
Lowry. "Many of us don't realize that the purchase of a VQA
Ontario wine puts as much as 4 to 6 times more money back into
the local economy of southern Ontario than an imported wine.
That's astonishing information about consumer power. Now, the
same economic multiplier effect also applies to the price of a
locally-made Ninutik maple candy, a local jar of Kozlik's
mustard, a locally made toy, or soap bar, local furniture, local
clothing designs, a local Ecojot notebook, all kinds of
excellent goods that are actually made here in the Toronto
region. Essentially, you vote with your dollars to support your
own local jobs and public services when you buy local first."
Locally produced goods and services mean less transportation.
The less burning of fuel to get what you need, the better.
Money spent at locally-owned independent businesses goes around
longer in the local economy. As local business people pay for
all kinds of local services, spend their profits and pay taxes
locally, local businesses yield two to four times the economic
benefit to you, the local resident, as comparable non-local
businesses. This means more local income, wealth, and jobs.
Big box stores are steamrolling their way into cities and towns
throughout Canada, pushing down wages and forcing small, local
businesses to close because they can't compete with these mega-
companies' predatory practices. But there's something that
every consumer can do. During the week of December 1 to 7,
shoppers can vote with their dollars in favor of locally-owned,
independent businesses.
A study in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood found that local
businesses re-circulate 70% more money locally than chain stores
do, per square foot occupied. The San Francisco Retail Diversity
Study found that a slight shift in consumer purchasing behavior
- diverting just 10% of purchases from national chain stores to
locally-owned businesses - would, each year, create 1,300 new
jobs in the city and yield nearly $200 million in incremental
economic activity.
Green Enterprise Toronto is a local network of The Business
Alliance for Local Living Economies, or BALLE, with local
business networks in 65 communities in the US and Canada. BALLE,
advances a new approach to sustainable community economic
development based on increasing local ownership of community
assets such as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, green
building, zero-waste manufacturing, and independent retail,
building what it calls "living economies."
"There is now overwhelming evidence that local businesses are
the key to pumping up local income, wealth, jobs, and taxes,"
says Michael Shuman, an economist who works closely with BALLE.
"The more residents, businesses, and city officials support
locally owned businesses, the greater the economic rewards.
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