Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
provided by 
12.01.2008 - 02:07pm ET
News from:
Pioneer Valley Local First
Think Local First for a Stable Economy "Buy Local Week" Is December 1-7
(CSRwire) - December 1, 2008 - The Local First movement, steadily gaining popularity
in communities across North America, may turn out to be the guardian angel
of independent retailers this holiday season.
Buy Local Week is December 1 - 7 this year – a year when holiday
shopping at local independent retailers is taking on more economic
importance than ever before. Communities around North America will be
celebrating their local stores with events, contests, and poster
campaigns. Last year, when the US economy was just beginning to wobble,
independent retailers in cities with active Local First campaigns reported
much larger increases in holiday sales on average than those in cities
without such campaigns.
In all 50 states, many local store owners held their own and even saw
sales gains as a result of joining with other independent business owners
in their region to emphasize their local ownership and commitment to
community. In the last few years, local business alliances have launched
Local First campaigns in dozens of communities. Independent retailers in
these cities reported an average gain in sales in 2007 of about 2% over
the 2006 holiday season, while those in cities without Local First
campaigns saw an increase of less than 0.5%. The Business Alliance for
Local Living Economies, or BALLE, with local business networks in 65
communities in the US and Canada, including Pioneer Valley Local First,
trains and supports its networks in conducting Local First campaigns.
It also advances a new approach to sustainable community economic
development based on local ownership of community assets such as
sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, green building, zero-waste
manufacturing, community capital, and independent retail, building what it
calls "living economies."
"Local, independent businesses and banks of Main Street are the economic
drivers that have carried our communities for generations," says Doug
Hammond, executive director of BALLE. "They create the real wealth that
sustains the places we call home." Another recent study drives home the
potential impact of shopping at locally owned stores, whatever the season:
The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study found that a slight shift in San
Francisco consumer purchasing behavior – diverting just 10% of purchases
from national chain stores to locally owned businesses – would, each
year, create 1,300 new jobs and yield nearly $200 million in incremental
economic activity.
"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." In Bellingham, Washington, residents are making
significant changes in their purchasing behavior as a result of local
BALLE network Sustainable Connections' Local First program. In a survey,
58% of Bellingham residents reported that the program has made them more
deliberate than they were three years ago (before the program began) about
choosing local, independently owned businesses first.
Dr. Pamela Jull, lead researcher on the survey for Applied Research
Northwest, says, "To have nearly 3 in 5 households attributing a behavior
change to this program shows an amazing impact." Bellingham is seeing the
results in the form of enhanced economic stability in the community.
Ninety-two percent of businesses involved in its Local First program say
they would recommend participating in such a program to other businesses
in their industry.
Pioneer Valley Local First is an all-volunteer organization
dedicated to promoting locally owned, independent businesses here in
Western Massachusetts and to encourage local business owners to be
socially, locally and environmentally responsible. We are also a founding
member of BALLE. Please see our site at: www.pvLocalFirst.org
About BALLE: The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, or
BALLE, is the world's fastest growing network of sustainable businesses
committed to building local economies and transforming the community
economic development field. BALLE is comprised of 65 local networks of
independent businesses in a variety of locales across the US and Canada,
and represents more than 20,000 entrepreneurs. For more information, visit
www.livingeconomies.org
For more information please contact:
Daniel Finn
413-364--7266
Kirsten Bonanza
860-921-1248
News Categories:
Community Development and Sustainability
|
