3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
3c hapter - Index of
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Buy Local, Eat Local . . . Invest Local 45<br />
Ithaca HOURs in upstate New York, to keep money circulating<br />
locally. The largest such system, BerkShares, serving the Berkshires<br />
region <strong>of</strong> northwestern Massachusetts, is accepted at more than<br />
400 businesses and several banks, and 2.5 million <strong>of</strong> the notes have<br />
circulated since the scrip was introduced in 2006. The Brooklyn<br />
Torch will soon debut in North Brooklyn.<br />
Meanwhile, local businesses are banding together to raise awareness<br />
among customers <strong>of</strong> the importance <strong>of</strong> shopping at local, independently<br />
owned enterprises. Inspired by Civic Economics’ local<br />
impact studies, the 10% Shift, a campaign that encourages people<br />
to redirect a portion <strong>of</strong> their spending to independent busi nesses,<br />
has spread from New England across the country. Local business<br />
alliances, such as the Austin Independent Business Alliance in Texas<br />
and Local First Lexington in Kentucky, have sprung up in more<br />
than 130 cities. And they’ve had astounding success.<br />
Over the 2008 holiday season, when retail sales everywhere<br />
slumped, the big chains reported punishing declines over the prior<br />
year. Sales at Borders and The Gap slid 14 percent, while Williams-<br />
Sonoma took a 24 percent hit. Independent retailers fared better.<br />
Their sales were down 5 percent overall, but just 3.2 percent in<br />
cities with active “buy local” programs, according to a survey conducted<br />
by the Institute for Local Self- Reliance. The trend continued<br />
over the 2009 holidays, with indie sales up 2.2 percent overall<br />
and 3 percent in areas with campaigns, compared with Commerce<br />
Department–reported sales growth <strong>of</strong> 1.8 percent in November<br />
and negative 0.3 percent in December for all retail sales. 12<br />
Shifting Fortunes<br />
We’ve seen that a shift <strong>of</strong> just 10 percent <strong>of</strong> spending from corporateowned<br />
chains to locally owned merchants can have an outsized<br />
impact on the local economy. What would a similar 10 percent<br />
shift in investment dollars from Fortune 500 to locally owned businesses<br />
yield? Or even a 5 percent shift?<br />
Or, as Slow Money founder Woody Tasch asks, in typically<br />
ambitious fashion: What would the world be like if we invested 50 percent<br />
<strong>of</strong> our assets within 50 miles <strong>of</strong> where we live?