Buying Local First
PRACTICES
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN
Prominently display logo and materials
When we have a critical mass of businesses participating in the Think Local First campaign, customers and visitors alike begin saying, "I've seen that logo everywhere," -- and start paying significant attention to the reasons they should Buy Local. Try to use campaign materials provided as much as possible: logos in your ads, decals in your storefront and on fleet vehicles, posters on your walls or windows, etc. The more businesses showing they Think Local First, the better for all of us!
Include a coupon in the annual Coupon Book
Free with membership in Sustainable Connections, the Think Local First coupon book is a fabulous tool for your business to promote the great things you're doing for sustainability and get new customers in your doors. Regularly the BEST selling book at Village Books, it highlights actions businesses are doing like taking the Watershed Pledge, purchasing Green Power, becoming a certified EnviroStar, and more.
Get creative with your promotions
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Invite in the Be Local BEE or Think Local First! prize wheel
Members are welcome to use Sustainable Connections' Be Local Bee costume* or beautiful Think Local First! prize wheel at their own special events. Our Be Local Bee mascot is a friendly way to spread the message about Thinking Local First, not to mention a huge hit with kids, and the prize wheel is a tremendous draw and can definitely make a splash in a crowd. Everyone loves to spin that wheel, because "Everyone's a winner when they Think Local First!" These are both great tools that work well at grand openings, sidewalk sales, anniversary sales, and can really draw focus to a new local item or service and the importance of Thinking Local First!
***EXAMPLE: Whatcom Educational Credit Union invited the Be Local Bee* to be a part of their entry in summer-time parades throughout Whatcom County. They reported in their newsletter, “The Be Local Bee was a huge hit with the kids!”
*Sometimes we’re able to find a volunteer to be the Be Local Bee. Contact us for details.
BUY LOCAL
Purchase what you can from other local businesses
What do you buy now that could be replaced with local purchases? Use your Sustainable Connections directory and the searchable online member listing at www.sustainableconnections.org to find local businesses you'd like to by from. Don't forget local professionals too - we have excellent accountants, lawyers, financial planners, graphic designers, etc. right here in our own community.
Also, be sure to remind your vendors and service providers that you're purchasing from them because they're local and independently owned, and a great part of this community.
Bank at a local bank or credit union
Another way to Buy Local is by transferring all banking services, loans, credit cards and debt payments to locally owned institutions. Put your interest to work in the local community as well, supporting the financial institutions that serve this place and employ your friends and neighbors right here at home.
Offer member-to-member discounts
Every business member of Sustainable Connections has the opportunity to print a member-to-member offer in the annual Directory. Consider giving a discount on some product or service to the community of like-minded businesses you appreciate so much as a special thank you for doing their part. And look into the discounts they're offering you in return!
Expand what's available locally
If a product you frequently need that you just can't find at a locally owned business, encourage a business with complimentary products and services to think about becoming a vendor of that item. Odds are they'll find a way to provide it for you and others. On the flip side, research the feasibility of providing the product or service yourself - and it will fly, make it happen!
BUY FRESH
Eat locally grown and produced food
The Buy FRESH logo makes it easy to find locally grown food when shopping for meals, but sometimes products aren't labeled so clearly. Get into the habit of reading the signs on produce and shelving that mentions where a product originated from. Not only does buying locally grown food enrich the local economy by supporting local farmers and producers, more often than not it is tastier and healthier as well. And considering that the average meal in the United States travels 1,500 miles from seed to plate, buying local food can really cut down on the amount of fossil fuels burned to fill your belly.
Specify 'locally grown' for your next catering event
When you throw a company party, luncheon, open house or workshop, remember to ask your caterer to use as many locally grown ingredients as possible for meals. Work with your caterer to keep it affordable, and tout the fact that you're serving the best local product this community has to offer at your event. Yum!
Promote and support farmers and farmland
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Try the 100-mile diet during Eat Local Week
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CHAMPION THE CAUSE
Get Vocal about Local
Use your newsletters, marketing materials, invoices - whatever you had to clients and customers - to communicate the message. Build displays or menus of local products, and talk one on one with folks about the virtues of 'Going Local'. Consider writing a letter to the editor or opinion piece for one of our many local papers. Not sure if a business is locally owned? Go right ahead and ask!
Mentor a new local business
New businesses have a much higher possibility of succeeding with a little help and guidance from someone who's been there. If a business owner contacts you with questions about how they should proceed - be responsive! Give them your honest feedback, and see if you can identify ways your business can support them in their start-up phase of growth.
***EXAMPLE: Stephen Trinkhaus at Terra Organica has long made a practice of helping other businesses get started, including extending credit to local suppliers of organic products and guaranteeing shelf space to any local, organic food provider.
Invest in a new business venture
This idea is best illustrated with an example from Judy Wicks, co-founder of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (www.livingeconomies.org). When searching for humanely-raised pork for her restaurant, the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, Judy found a farmer who could provide the meat for her but had no means to deliver to her cafe. She lent him the funds at a low interest rate to purchase a refrigerated truck, which enabled him to deliver humanely-raised pork to her, as well as to many other restaurants throughout the region.
Toot your own horn
The Think Local First campaign ethic is based on reciprocity -- we support local businesses in their stewardship of this community, and in turn, we ask the community to support them. Continuously improve your stewardship of this place - take the Watershed Pledge, buy Green Power, become a Zero-Waste business - and tell us and others about it! Be proud of the work you're doing to be the best business you can be! We want sustainable business practices become the norm, and talking about it is imperative to that becoming true.
Build the web
Provide customers and employees with names of local businesses that provide complimentary services and products to your own, and ask those businesses to do the same. Personal referrals are one of the most powerful ways to spread the word, and sharing the many like-minded businesses in our community with others is a great way to keep this such a wonderful place to live and do business!
Share your values with your employees
Bring up in staff meetings why you support the campaign, and why you'd like them to do so as well. For holidays gifts, get employees the Think Local First Coupon Book or gift certificates to other local businesses. Your employees are often the front lines of communication with your customers, and can champion the cause better if they understand why exactly it matters to your business and our community.
