At CitySquares we do a lot of talking about buying local. In fact, that’s part of our brand. Everyone on staff here really has a heart for local businesses. We work with them each and every day, hundreds of them. They’re the life-blood of our local economies, and of our neighborhoods. But how many of us here at CitySquares practice what we preach? It doesn’t take long for a new employee to get the big picture and start being more aware of where they spend their consumer dollars, and while we all try hard to keep up with that, it’s easy to forget and go to a big chain for groceries, or for hardware, or home goods. Buying locally really does take practice. Well, this is a topic we’ve been discussing a lot and so we’ve decided it’s time to start practicing what we preach.
So while we all do try to buy local we’ve decided to make it an official company-wide challenge for the month of June. This month, starting last week, everyone on staff here (14 of us) is participating in what we call the “Buy Local Challenge.” (This effort is partly inspired by our friend Joe Grafton, Executive Director for Somerville Local First, and his “Lokavore Experiment.”) Sure some things will be easy, but we understand there will be challenges along the way, like buying gasoline, grocery shopping, and in some cases we may have to pay a premium. We also know we’ll have some slip-ups but what we’re mainly aiming for is the lessons learned along the way. Below are the guidelines we will follow. Be sure to check back for weekly updates.
Rule 1) If we spend money, it must be at a locally owned business.
Rule 2) When given the option, we will favor locally made products.
Rule 3) As usual we will try to give our business to CitySquares customers.
Rule 4) Take notes! Throughout the week we will all be noting our successes and our struggles in trying to buy only locally. We will update the blog weekly on what we’ve learned.
What do you think of this? Have you tried something similar?
Ben Saren
Amber Killingsworth
Justin Leider
Michael LeBarron
bleland
kimmyh
Phillip
caitsully
juliecaroline
chehadej
4 responses so far ↓
Update: The Buy Local Challenge « The CitySquares Blog // June 18, 2008 at 1:26 pm
[...] We talk about buying local with our customers and with community members daily. Earlier this month, we gave ourselves a challenge, to buy only from local businesses for the month of June. While there have been some mishaps [...]
Adam Smith // June 19, 2008 at 1:41 pm
To be honest I think the idea of “buying local” is ridiculous. What is the point? To prove that people need a local search site to find small mom and pop shops that don’t have the advertising budget to get in the public eye?
The fact of the matter is we live in a global economy. Further, the products we all enjoy, and view as necessities of life, and the companies that bring them to us, are global. The keyboard I am typing on was developed in California, and contains parts from no less than three Asian nations. It would be 100% impossible to buy a keyboard totally produced in MA. And, any “local store” that sells computer parts is going to sell them at a considerably higher price than Best Buy.
How about groceries. Maybe one could find some local produce and seafood from MA. But if you want a steak, or a banana you’d better be prepared to buy from another country. Not to mention that unless you’re shopping at a farmer’s market, ALL grocery stores are large hundred million dollar businesses.
Trade works when areas specialize in producing the products they are most efficient in producing. Similarly, economies of scale dictate that most larger companies can provide products at a cheaper price, in less time, than smaller businesses. The idea of buying local is ridiculous. Remember, all large companies started off as one, small, local business. Should they be abandoned simply because they are popular outside of their municipality?
Joe Grafton // June 20, 2008 at 2:28 pm
This comment is why organizations like Somerville Local First and Citysquares exist. While “Adam Smith” speaks with authority and gusto, his facts are untrue and his arguments fallacious.
First of all, buying from locally owned businesses DOES create a more favorable economic outcome for communities. Economic studies have proven that for every $100 a customer spends, $63 stays in the community if they spend at locally owned business, vs. $48 if they don’t. That’s 25% of every dollar we spend.
Now the point about products made and sourced in our communities is valid. However, there ARE opportunities to go more local in your spending. Buy Adirondak or Polar soda instead of Coke & Pepsi. Buy local produce whenever possible. However, there probably aren’t local keyboard manufacturers. So buying locally made products isn’t possible in that situation. But it’s the intent that matters….try to buy from local companies WHEN POSSIBLE!
Onto groceries. Mr. Smith makes bold statements of fact that are completely inaccurate. There ARE local chains of supermarkets (Johnny’s Foodmaster, Foodies, City Feed & Supply, Market Basket) that offer more local alternatives to the national chains. And I’ve done the price comparisons…there may be some items that are less expensive @ Shaws but overall the prices are nearly equal at local chains. Also, I personally shop for meat & veggies at a local butcher and farm stand/farmers market. The REALITY is that I spend somewhere between 25% and 50% LESS than I would at a national chain for the SAME PRODUCTS. There has been a disinformation campaign for many years putting out the idea that local businesses are more expensive. But the data never lies, and this is just not true, ESPECIALLY when it comes to food.
The arguments made in this comment are the standard Friedman Free Market economic platform that has permeated the majority of our economic policy for years, to the extreme detriment of our small businesses and communities. These policies support consolidated markets, without true competition with windfall profits going to multinational corporations. They cause markets to fail. Organizations like ours are working to correct these failures, one community at a time.
And the first thing we must do is educate our friends and neighbors. We must help them understand that going local IS sustainable. And debunking these false perceptions is step #1
Locally Yours,
Joe G.
The Buy Local Challenge, Concluded « The CitySquares Blog // July 7, 2008 at 10:31 am
[...] 2008 · No Comments With July now in full swing, it’s time for our final update on the Buy Local Challenge. For those of you who haven’t been following it, we here at CitySquares gave ourselves a [...]
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