The Christmas season is upon us and when you head out to start your holiday shopping, you should think about supporting your local businesses. Shopping local brings money into the community, brings diversity to the community, helps supports local families, environmental impact is reduced, and supports non-profits and gives them more support. There are certain aspects of your life that you can easily shop local and I will tell you what they are.
- Farmers Markets
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Shopping locally for produce is great and helps out not only the environment but also the families that are growing the fruits, veggies, or meat. You also know what you’re getting and how they were grown.
- Clothing
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Boutiques are a good way to get your clothes from local people. Not all boutiques are local so you just have to keep an eye out for the chains and use those less and pick the shops that aren’t big chains.
- Coffee Shops
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Coffee shops that are a single shop coffee house are beneficial for the environment because they know where they are getting their beans and pastries. Going to them also help support the people that opened it.
- Resturants
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If you’re choosing where to go out for dinner, think about local small restaurants. They get their food from local farms, are more environmentally friendly, and have a more friendly staff.
- Bike Shops
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Cycling, in general, is better for the environment but if you’re thinking about switching to cycling more or fixing up your bike, go to local bike shops and support them because they are already being overlooked due to people who are driving and don’t ride their bikes.
Changing to shopping local will help the environment, support local families, bring money into the community and you will get more personal service, it can be hard converting to just shopping local. Just take it small steps at a time and before you know it that’s all you will be doing.