Go green, go local. When you buy anything made within a 100 mile radius of your community you’re casting a wide net of green mindedness. Whether you’re buying from a farmer, carpenter, winery or a coffee shack, using local resources builds the entire community up.
The money you spend stays circulating within your area, keeps small businesses thriving, cuts down on transportation costs to and from the source and pride in the product will show. Local merchants have a positive reputation to nurture if they want to survive so customer care is generally quite a bit better. Go green, go local and stay happy with the quality of products you get. A local farmers’ market is a treasure trove of unique, personal resources.
Hand-crafted edible and non-food items made by your neighbors are one-of-a-kind gems and they’re easier to get information about. You can ask the designer or the grower when, where and how it was made. If you see a craft or skill you share with a vendor, you can ask where they get their supplies and why they chose that place. You can visit many of the farms and studios your favorite items come from to get an even better idea of the growing or making process.
Go green when you get local products by reducing packaging waste and costs. Bring your own mug for that morning espresso and grab a bag of fresh-roasted beans or a muffin that was made 2 hours ago by the baker. You kept a paper cup and box out of the landfill and didn’t contribute to the use of extra fuel for shipping the beans or muffin across state.
How easy was THAT? With all the fresh produce available during the warmer months, why not grab an iced tea, some totes and visit the small farms near you? More and more of these little farms are letting you go pick your own produce if you want. No trucking fees, plenty of foods and flowers to pick from and the only packaging used is newspaper to wrap delicate things in your totes.
Go green, get to know your area, crafts people and resources better. There are still many local businesses that, once you have a good relationship with them, will even barter some their wares for yours. The more you support your local merchants the more you’ll see come back to your community.