The Union Leader, New Hampshire’s largest newspaper, featured a front page article on Plaid Friday and some context from the founders of this campaign:

“Gallery owner Kerri Johnson, of Oakland, Calif., said she was brainstorming with friends and other business owners three years ago about what small retailers could do on Black Friday, other than close for the day. At the time there was a movement in California to boycott large retailers, she said. Instead of a boycott, Johnson envisioned a day in which people slept in, then around noon strolled into their local community for a cup of coffee and some leisurely shopping.”

Johnson’s vision manifested at some area shops on Plaid Friday. “We usually just have to sit on the sidelines, and let the big stores have their day,” said Jim Therriault of New England Everyday Goods. “We had a surprisingly good Friday. It was our best day yet being in business… this was far beyond my expectations. It’s a good indicator of what may be coming.”

In addition to honoring our local economy, our Plaid Friday campaign honored the diversity of our members – empowering them to choose how they wanted (and were able) to participate. Some members ran around town photographing neighboring business owners wearing plaid while others offered specials. One Stop County Pet Supply in Keene offered 10% off any locally-made products and Walpole Valley Farms handed out samples of their grass-fed beef.

Jackie Caserta served as a non-traditional Plaid Friday Hub as owner of a bed & breakfast, The Inn at Valley Farms in Walpole. “I donned plaid to serve breakfast to a table full of inn goers. One family was from Los Angeles and I knew the mom in particular was eyeing my stylish oversized plaid shirt! Another guest, who must have read the local paper, actually mentioned my shirt and commented on it being “Flannel Friday” which was a great lead-in to a thoughtful conversation. There were adults and teens at the table all of which had been staying with me for several days so felt comfortable to have a pretty frank discussion. Good to get the word out to a few impressionable guests that might not have otherwise known about the effort!”

Monadnock Buy Local wants to give a tremendous thank you to the organizers of the Plaid Friday and Shift Your Shopping Campaigns. This small network of volunteers accomplished all this thanks to all your work! We look forward to 2012 and shifting the conversation NATIONALLY!

Monadnock Buy Local is a network of locally-owned and independent businesses and organizations working together to encourage more people to “think local first” to help our communities & local economy grow: http://monadnocklocal.com.

Click on the player below to hear the song created with Indies in mind!

May be distributed freely and used to create non-commercial derivative works of any kind to promote Shift Your Shopping.

Originally posted on The Concord Indies Blog »

In 2011, Seattle Good Business Network launched Think Local – an ongoing campaign that gets the word out about why local matters, and promotes Seattle’s great local independent businesses. We’ve taken hundreds of fun photos of local indie businesses, and filmed dozens of interviews. So as the holidays approached, we wanted to do something with all that great juju to help remind people to shop local. When our member Propadata Films said they were interested in helping us create a video, we jumped! And this is what came of it. We’re like proud parents. Please watch, enjoy, then share, share, share!

It’s still November, yet they’ve already begun playing holiday music on the radio! And we all know what that means… it’s that special time of year where we’re all frantically trying to make sure that we’ve checked off our neighbors, friends, family members, and loved ones off of our holiday shopping lists. Most of you are probably still putting your lists together, while some of you may have already kicked off your holiday shopping at Local First Arizona’s Certified Local Fall Festival this past Saturday! Regardless of where you stand with your holiday shopping, Local First Arizona wants to make it easy for you to support your local economy while you spread the holiday cheer.

By shopping at local businesses this holiday season, you’ll be supporting the mom & pop stores and keeping your money in your local economy and community. You’ll also find many unique gifts that will surely impress your friends! If we all pledge to keep our holiday shopping local, we can have an enormous impact on our community and our state, and we’ll be able to ring in the new year knowing that we are all committed to making Arizona a better place.

Below, you will find tips and ideas for how you can easily shift your holiday spending. Whether you’re hosting a party, cooking a meal, or shopping for presents to put under the tree, we’ll show you how you can support local in every aspect.

To sweeten the deal, we’re sponsoring a holiday shift contest! Simply email Erica@localfirstaz.com and tell us how you are shifting your holiday spending to be entered to win a fabulous prize from a local business! We will be doing a random drawing from all submissions; winners who submit early will have the first choice of prizes. The contest ends December 31st so be sure to get your emails in before the end of the year.

Holiday Shift Tips

Shift your shopping!

• Visit the Local First Buy Local Week page to find locally owned businesses who are offering special holiday deals. Find Phoenix offers here.
• Send gift baskets from locally owned businesses.
• Electronics can be purchased from locally owned stores – many times for cheaper than the big boxes.
• Locally owned toy stores have gifts that the other kids in the neighborhood probably won’t have as well as the ‘must-have’ toys of the season.
• Check out craft stores and fairs for one of a kind items, straight from the people who make them.
• Purchase art from local artists, museums and galleries.
• Gift wrap and holiday cards can be purchased locally.
• Avoid shopping online and check out the great selection at locally owned music and bookstores. If you must shop online, try a locally owned business. Many will ship items to you upon request.
• Give a gift that keeps on giving with a local magazine subscription.
• Skip the mall studio and get the family snapshot taken by a local photographer. And check for locally owned locations to get your photos with the big guy in the red suit.
• Send your gifts to out-of-town friends and family using local mail service and supply stores.

Shift your holiday party!

• Hold holiday party at a locally owned restaurant or venue.
• Hire a locally owned catering company and bartending service.
• Pick up food from locally owned grocery store or farmers market. While shopping, look for Arizona products such as Hickman’s Eggs, Cerreta’s chocolates and Shamrock Farms dairy products, Arizona wine and beer .
• Pick up decorations at a locally owned party shop.
• Hire a local florist and purchase plants from local nurseries.
• Use local DJ’s and musicians.
• Avoid the clean up by hiring a professional cleaning service.
• Find the perfect party dress or outfit from a local clothing store.
• Visit (or hire for a house call!) a locally owned salon or spa or massage therapist to get pre-or-post party pampered. Same goes for Fido.

Shift your travel!

• Having more guests in town than rooms in your home? Put them up at a locally owned hotel or B&B. If traveling out of state, do a bit of research to find locally owned hotels, restaurants and services.
• Pick up luggage, locally!
• Use a locally owned taxi company to get from point A to B. Charter a bus for large group transportation.
• Get your auto tuned up pre-road trip at a locally owned auto service shop.

Shift your giving!

• Donate money and/or volunteer time at a local food bank, shelter, hospital or non-profit organization.
• If you are sponsoring a family for the holidays or being a Holiday Angel for children in need, shop at locally owned businesses.

Get the local holiday spirit!

Participate in the many events celebrating the holiday season throughout Arizona! Some unique happenings include:

The Polar Express in Williams
November – January

Celebrate the Holidays in Tucson
November – December

High Country Holidays in Flagstaff
November 11 – January 7

Red Rock Fantasy in Sedona
November 17 – December 31

ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo
November 24 – January 8

Glendale Glitters
November 25 – December 17

Tempe Fantasy of Lights
Opening Night Parade: Saturday, November 26
Boat Parade: Saturday, December 10

Frances & Smeek’s Crafeteria in Phoenix
Friday, December 2

Holiday Events in Prescott
December 1-31

Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden
December 1-30

2nd Annual Phoestivus Market at the Phoenix Public Market
Wednesday, December 14 & Wednesday, December 21

Holidays at the Heard Museum
December 26 – January 2

Originally posted on the Local First Arizona Blog »

No one wants to talk about it. Itʼs embarrassing and usually not too pretty. The problem is re-gifting and the cure is the 4th Annual Craftboston Holiday show at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts.

All of us have suffered from re-gifting – be it from receiving or passing on the offending item. You have entered the re-gift cycle if you have experienced any of the following symptoms or exhibited behaviors:

1. Nausea – caused by either the humiliation of the lame gift you are about to give or receive
2. Lying – caused by the desire to protect the gift giverʼs feelings, ie. “Yes, I will wear the puffy painted snowman sweater out with my friends tonight Grandma.” (see also “Nausea”)
3. Complete disregard for fashion – (see “Lying”)
4. Purging – necessitated by the accumulation of post-holiday gifts still in bags with new tags

There is a cure! Shop for gifts at Craftboston Holiday 2011 where 90 artists will showcase one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces in baskets, ceramics, decorative fiber, art-to-wear, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper and wood. Itʼs an amazing opportunity for creative shoppers, collectors and those who are looking for the perfect gift to complete their holiday shopping.

Give a great gift and put an end to the holiday re-gifting epidemic!

SHOW DETAILS

ADMISSION:
General Admission: $15
Senior Citizens: $13
SAC Members: $12
Children 12 years & under: Free

WHEN:
Friday, December 9, 2011 — 10am-7pm
Saturday, December 10, 2011 — 10am-7pm
Sunday, December 11, 2011 — 11am-5pm

Preview Party
December 8, 2011 — 6:00-9:00pm

WHERE:
Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116

For digital images contact Alyce at 617-266-1810 or www.societyofcrafts.org.

Asheville has 250 independent restaurants, a dozen shopping districts fraught with local entrepreneurs catering to unique tastes, hundreds of artists who open their studios to the public and galleries who showcase them.  On every block one can find films, theatrical performances, live music and every sort of inspiring entertainment. Many of us who live here forget that there is so much to experience.  Asheville is truly a gift in itself and a hotbed of culture unlike any you’ll find anywhere in the US.

In the spirit of Shift Your Shopping, take your family, meet up with friends and laugh, live and remember to love on the day after Thanksgiving.

“Occupy Oakland” with Your Brand New Oakland Grown Gift Card

The Oakland Gift Card! The gift card you can use at multiple Oakland independent businesses and artists. A fun way to keep money in our community and get a flexible gift for friends, family, clients, and colleagues.

I have been volunteering with the Oakland Grown Team for the last nine months in creating the Oakland Grown Gift Card. I just contributed $25 to the effort to complete the $7,500 fund needed to launch the OG Gift Card. We have already raised $5,585. We have twelve days to raise the additional $1,915 Will you match me?

All you have to do is go to www.oaklandgrown.org, and click on the card information on the home page. It will take you to a page where there is a wealth of information about this wonderful card, and will give you access to an IndieGoGo page where you can make a contribution of as little as $10 and as large as $5,000.

There are many important features of this OG Gift Card. Among them are:

• The OG member businesses that take the card are unique and exciting. When you give an OG Gift Card, you are giving them access to the very best of Oakland.
• The money invested in the card stays in the city. Literally, when you use the OG Gift Card, you “Occupy Oakland!”
• Every time you use the card, you strengthen Oakland’s indie business community.

The great thing about the card is that it builds our local economy while providing a fun gift and a way to explore new businesses or artists, OR visit some favorites.

We live in a world where our money has been badly, indeed, dreadfully, managed by the big three:

• the large banks,
• the large DC lobbying firms,
• the legislators in Congress.

(If you want to discover how badly it has been handled, read Harvard University Law Professor Larry Lessig’s just published, Republic, Lost. Brilliant book that will first make you want to cry, and then prompts you to do something that will return control to the 99%!)

It is clear that the way to improve dangerous economic environment within which we all currently operate is to start managing our own money. In its own very modest way, that is precisely what the OG Gift Card allows you to do! Enjoy it! Grow it!

Mark McLeod
Executive Director
Sustainable Business Alliance

The 2011 citywide Buy Local campaign “Unwrap Chicago – Eat, Drink and Buy Local” has launched.  Local First Chicago is working with over 30 neighborhoods, the Department of Tourism and Culture and independent businesses to make this years campaign truly citywide.
Pledge to shop at your local independently-owned stores this holiday season to help stimulate the economy in your neighborhood.  Studies show that if each household in Chicago shifts just $100 of planned holiday spending from chain stores to locally owned merchants; it would keep $25 million from leaking out of our local Chicago economy.

You help:

• Put more dollars back into your community,
• Create and preserve local jobs, and
• Reduce your carbon footprint.

Businesses and business support organizations are welcome to join the campaign.

Go to the Unwrap Chicago website to take the pledge or join the campaign.

Originally posted on the Local First Chicago website »

Mary Scott, director of High Country Local First, has distributed posters around the community to encourage consumers to shop at local, independent businesses. Photo by Anna Oakes

A number of local organizations are urging High Country consumers to buy local during the holidays—the busiest shopping season of the year.

And as commercials and advertisements herald the coming of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the busiest shopping day of the year, area merchants hope you’ll consider stopping by for all of your holiday gifts.

“This is pretty much everyone’s biggest time of year…for really getting an edge on their sales,” said Mary Scott of High Country Local First. “If we can spend our money at locally owned businesses…it keeps money circulating through our community.”

High Country Local First, a new, member-funded nonprofit in the area, has joined the “Shift Your Shopping” campaign, a collaboration between the American Independent Business Alliance and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, which represent more than 150 local business alliances in the U.S. and Canada.

Shift Your Shopping aims to draw attention to independently and locally owned stores as alternatives to shopping at big box stores on Black Friday.

While some areas have focused on the day after Thanksgiving, such as the “Plaid Friday” campaign in Oakland, CA, High Country Local First wants to emphasize local shopping throughout the entire holiday season, Scott said.

There are lots of reasons to shop locally for the holidays, Scott noted.

“The most important is that when the owners live and work here in the community, the money spent at their businesses, most of it stays here and recirculates through the community,” she said.

And there’s data to support that claim. For example, a 2008 study by Civic Economics conducted in Grand Rapids, MI., found that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 remains in the local economy—compared with $43 for money spent at a non-local business.

Scott said supporting locally owned independent businesses also helps preserve the uniqueness of the High Country, that you’ll usually get better service at a local business and that locally owned businesses tend to support community groups, school and nonprofits.

“When they shop here, my money goes right back into the community,” said Mike Boone, owner of 18-year-old Magic Cycles. “I get hit up every day for donations.”

Stuart Mangum, owner of M-Prints in Boone, said, “If I can spend my money locally, I spend it locally. On most things, it’s not an issue of price.

“It’s not a matter of any individual or any single business gaining an advanatage by that, but everybody gains an advantage by that,” Mangum said, adding that he’s a supporter of High Country Local First.

Locally, the holiday shopping season is important to help businesses get through the winter—a season that is generally slow for sales.

“It’s our last rush before we are completely dead for the winter,” Boone said.

Janelle Vaquera, owner of Lucky Penny, a clothing boutique in downtown Boone, said shopping at a local store is a way to set yourself apart with trendy, unique items you won’t find at larger chains.

“We get six of every thing, so you’re not going to see many of them around,” she said.

High Country Local First has a Facebook page where it will post gifts available at local stores, and the organization invites Facebook users to comment about other gifts they have seen locally.

In addition, check out the local business directory at www.HighCountryLocalFirst.org  and the resources at www.ShiftYourShopping.org.

The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce has promoted “Shop Local” for some time now but is increasing its focus on the campaign this year with “Shop Local Saturdays.”

“We’re putting our ‘Shop Local’ program on steroids,” said President Dan Meyer. The chamber encourages community members to shop at local businesses on Saturdays throughout the holiday season, including November 26 and December 3, 10, 17 and 24.

And building on that campaign is a new push to “Give Local,” too—the chamber asks individuals and businesses to consider charitable contributions to local nonprofits and charities, especially those who meet the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing.

Finally, the Occupy Boone movement has announced its own shop local initiative: Green Friday. Instead of shopping at major chains on Black Friday, the group encourages consumers to buy local, buy green and buy with cash. Local merchants are charged a fee by major banks and financial companies every time a credit card or debit card is used.

About High Country Local First

High Country Local First is a new nonprofit organization working to strengthen our community and local economy by supporting locally owned, independent businesses and farms through education, promotion and networking.

High Country Local First provides a detailed online directory of businesses and farms and offers discounts to individual members at participating establishments.

Mary Scott, director of the program, said High Country Local First is currently in its startup phase and is funded through individual and business memberships. Scott said she currently serves as a part-time, volunteer director but that she hopes the organization will grow to include some paid staff in the future to provide more services to businesses.

The organization was also contracted to do some work for a specialty crops grant, she said, but currently no grant serves as its primary source of funding.

Scott said High Country Local First plans to distribute a printed directory once it reaches 100 members—hopefully around early 2012. To become a member, to access the business directory or to learn more, email highcountrylocalfirst@gmail.com or click to www.highcountrylocalfirst.org.

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

Thanksgiving is an excellent time to eat local and buy local, and here at Lowcountry Local First we have so much to be thankful for! This year we have experienced incredible growth, adding more members and putting on more events. We have an excellent group of business members, individual supporters and volunteers who promote our message.

We live in an area (Charleston, SC area) that has a long growing season and a climate that supports an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables. Our incubator farm and apprenticeship program are supporting a new generation of farmers while we continue to connect established farms with restaurants.

Our friends and neighbors are embracing our message and supporting local businesses. Supporting unique, independent vendors and producers is partially about preserving agricultural knowledge, culinary heritage and a unique, Lowcountry way of life. It’s also about strengthening our local economy and keeping jobs in Charleston. According to Civic Economics, for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $45 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. The same amount spent at a national chain results in only $14 contributed to the community.

This year, as you gather with your family and friends to give thanks, think local:

1. Pick local produce for your Thanksgiving feast. The Lowcountry can provide everything you need for your feast from pecans to turkey!
2. If you don’t cook, make reservations at a restaurant that sources their ingredients from local farmers.
3. Shop at unique, independent businesses on Black Friday Plaid Friday. Check with your favorite stores before to see what hours they are open.
4. Drink local: Charleston is home to great breweries and sweet tea vodka!
5. Stay local: If you have family coming to town but don’t have room for everyone, keep local hotels and bed and breakfasts in mind.

We asked Local First Indiana business members and a number of Bloomington residents, from students to professionals, to give us a list of their favorite gifts from local, independent businesses in Bloomington, and we created a guide that was made for Bloomington, by Bloomington.

We also asked our business members to give us a list of the items they are most excited about on their shelves for the holidays this year.  Some are best sellers and some are simply favorites of the owner.  I can guarantee that some of these items will be your new favorites, too.   From DIY Spice Mixes to locally made beers and wines, cheese, BBQ Sauce, and flavored honeys, the Food and Beverage section offers great ideas for the Foodies on your list.  There is a section for Entertainment and Experiential Gifts, like dance lessons, live music, or theater productions.  The retail list is the most extensive, with ideas that range from stocking stuffers for bicycle or music lovers to handmade art, and carefully selected toys and books.  We also have a great list of Charitable Donations for those who would rather not receive physical gifts but love contributing to the improvement of our community.  For those who would love some environmentally friendly ideas, Jacqui Bauer provided us with a great sustainable gift list.  For those who like to keep it simple, we also included a new section–a list of Gift Cards and Gift Certificates.

Best of all, this list reflects a growing desire to keep things local.  All items on our list are sold in locally owned, independent businesses in Bloomington, and includes many items that were made right here in Bloomington and in Indiana.  Every item that you buy in a locally owned, independent business makes a difference for the business you bought it from and for our town.  Keep your money local and you will have a Holiday Season you can be proud of!

There’s been a lot of talk these days about Occupy, the 99%, Moving Your Money, the list goes on.  All of these are a part of an ongoing dialog, and I, for one, am enthusiastic that topics of such great magnitude are being discussed and brought to the consciousness of a nation.

Now it is time to act.

Come on guys! There's even an old timey holiday movie referencing this stuff...George Bailey: one of the 99%!

A great deal of good was done this summer, but the engine of our economy, our democracy, of the very nation we love, is holiday shopping. And in this time of economic crisis, there may be no more important holiday shopping season. It’s estimated that you as an individual are going to spend $704.18 on gifts this season. OK, maybe it’s not that much–but with such a tremendous amount of urgency in the air, where you put that money could make all the difference in the world.

Literally.

As a resident of the greater Boston area, I’ve seen what localization can do. Entire city squares can be transformed. Industries can be revitalized. Local shops grow into local chains.

But we can’t stop there.

The time has come, especially during this crucial winter, to make a decided effort to not just shift our shopping 10 percent, or move our money to a local bank (both great things to be sure), but to consider each and every spend as an empowered movement in and of itself.

This season, it’s all about the gifts you give. Look for local artists and buy what they’ve got. Hit the butcher shop on the corner and ask them if they have gift certificates. Looking for a snazzy winter coat? Consider going vintage. Have a friend whose car needs repair? Ask them to borrow it for a weekend and take it to the local body shop. The ideas, as varied as the locally-owned businesses all around you, are endless.

As we are all becoming aware, corporations make political moves to squash your neighborhood. They turn labor into commodity. They squeeze each and every industry they touch until they are unbleeding stones. And, if you pay close enough attention, you’ll see they are as eager to take your holiday shopping money as ever before: running massive sales, deepening discounts, lengthening layaways, and holding morning sales events that will redefine the term “Black Friday.” They want your money so desperately, they will spare no expense.

Don’t give it to them.

It’s as much about our community as ever before. Encourage others to do the same–I think you’ll find everyone more than receptive of the message. Let’s turn the holidays of 2011 into a referendum on the world we want to live in, not the one they want to rule. The most powerful weapon you have is your pocketbook.

Use it wisely.

On October 21, New England Local Business Forum (NELBF) returned to its roots in Portsmouth, NH for its 8^th semiannual gathering. What started three years ago in the same city with a handful of local business leaders had grown on this sunny fall day to a collaboration of 30+ people from 17 Local First networks representing every state in New England.

This year, NELBF was even graced by two special guests, American Independent Business Alliance(AMIBA) cofounders Jeff Milchen and Jennifer Rockne, all the way from Big Sky Montana. After a morning meet-and-greet over coffee and pastries (locally catered, of course!), we all settled into Portsmouth’s gorgeous LEED Green Certified library for introductions and the morning panel, How Local Business Owners Can Engage the Movement and Customers. The great thing about Local First networks is that so many of the leaders are local business owners themselves. And who better to address the issues local businesses face than a lineup of four leader/proprietors themselves?

NELBF members engage in a panel discussion with Tom Roberts, Michael Kanter, Dave Warner, and Jody Breneman

A couple of the panelists reminded us that Local itself can be a branding in marketing. Tom Roberts of Beach Pea Bakery in Kittery, ME reminded us that pragmatism was key in this sense; while independent business has a duty to be socially responsible, it is still a business in the end and all would be for not if it is not successful commercially. Jody Breneman, co-owner of family-owned and run G. Willikers! Toy Shop in our host city told owners to keeping generating buzz about their small business: “Just keep talking about it.” For Jody, Buy Local is all about the small shifts. She shared an anecdote about a local couple on their way to buy a particular Christmas gift for their son at Toys’R'Us. Upon hearing a radio spot reminding them to buy local for the holidays, the couple, reminded, turned around the car and headed straight for local G. Willikers! instead.

This point brings me into the most important discussion of the day – that of the 2^nd annual region collaboration on the Shift Your Shopping holiday campaign and the first national partnership on the campaign. The campaign originally started in response to the American Express Small Business Saturday (to which SBN Boston executive director Laury Hammel half-jokingly suggested the slogan this year: “Support Small Business Saturday – Use Cash”). The credit card company ignored the demands and stipulations of NELBF, so we figured local does local better anyway and launched Shift Your Shopping. How do you do local on a national scale during the most commercialized time of the year? Our SYS website (designed by Somerville’s own Andy Pyman of Truly Good Solutions – and newest Somerville Local First board member!) will have a focus on individual community stories. It’s always about the local, people! With this campaign, we want to show that the individuals’ local stories are part of something bigger.

In the spirit of Occupy, we encourage consumers to Populate Main Street. As American Express and the like try to jump on our bandwagon, our biggest challenge as the grassroots is make sure you as the public stay informed and understand true ways to support local. Wrapping up a productive day, a group of us did what we do best and support local business, the Portsmouth Brewery.

What struck me about the NELBF gathering was that rather than a conference, it felt like an intimate get-together of like-minded friends – and it was. As one NE Local First leader proclaimed over Portsmouth brews, “We’ve brought 17 organizations together. New England really has something special here.”

Local friends bonding over some local drink

If you’re just finding out about the local movement, then this campaign is already succeeding.  Over the past 10+ years, business owners, community organizers, researchers and countless others have come together, setting out to build a new economy.  Shift your Shopping is just the latest manifestation of this work, and another step in collaboration that so defines the people involved in this movement.

Throughout this site, and through this North American campaign, you’ll find a great deal of information, research, data and stories that paint a compelling and convincing picture.  It’s not hard for us to see that the economic system we’re currently pursuing isn’t working for people, but what’s so exciting, and we hope is a key learning for you as a result of this campaign, is that there is an alternative.

Local economies, populated by a diverse and resilient local business community, offer more to our communities and to our own lives.  I’ve always believed that, since our purchasing decisions are in our control,  it’s maybe the most effective way for us to ‘vote’ in our society.  Depending on the estimate, consumer spending represents 60-70% of the economy every year and, while holiday shopping is just a part of that, our purchasing in the holiday season is a major economic driver.

So, this year, I encourage YOU to make a shift.  Instead of fighting crowds at the mall, take a stroll down down Main Street.  Instead of buying from a mega-online retailer, find an independent retail outfit that can offer you the same online ease.  And instead of purchasing all the latest retail products produced far away, consider buying fewer gifts, more thoughtfully, made by local artists or craftspeople…who might also be your neighbor.

The local economies movement is growing by the day, this is just another step in the process.  Main Street works…it always has.  We’re just remembering something we collectively forgot.  And if you want to help spread the message, we’d love your help.  Here’s a couple things you can do:

• Share the SYS website via Facebook or Twitter
• Tag your tweets with #shiftyourshopping
• Talk to people in your life (Social Networking 0.0?) about buying locally, why you’re doing so this holiday season and why its important

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2011

150 Local Business Alliances And National Independent Business Advocates Launch “Shift Your Shopping”

Jennifer Rockne, Director, American Independent Business Alliance
406-582-1255, Jennifer@AMIBA.net

Alissa Barron, Network Services Director, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
240-317-2247, alissa@livingeconomies.org

Joe Grafton, Executive Director, Somerville Local First
(617) 682-0763, somervillelocalfirst@gmail.com

More than 150 communities across North America, along with partner organizations including The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and New England Local Business Forum, today announced the launch of their Shift Your Shopping holiday campaign, an unprecedented national campaign that encourages residents to take job creation and economic concerns into their own hands by exercising their power to strengthen their own local economies.

Online at www.ShiftYourShopping.org, the campaign seeks to build an annual tradition that strengthens local economies, expands employment, nurtures a sense of community, and provides a more relaxed, fun, and rewarding gift-buying experience.

“We’re asking community residents to shift your purchases of food, cards, gifts, flowers and other holiday purchases to where it matters most, from your friends and neighbors at locally-owned busines. And while you’re at it, see some familiar faces and enjoy the experience,” said Joe Grafton, director of Somerville Local First in Massachusetts.

Americans are about to spend a large portion of their annual shopping budget between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31—the National Retail Federation predicts about $700 per shopper. Numerous studies show that if those dollars are shifted to locally owned, independent businesses, they’ll generate 2-3 times as much economic activity in local communities than if that money had been spent at a national chain. Across North America, that could mean billions of dollars of local economic impact.

Shift Your Shopping combines the efforts of more than 150 local business alliances comprised of more 38,000 local business. Grassroots groups like Somerville Local First, Asheville Grown Business Alliance in North Carolina and Oakland Grown in California will execute campaigns with their own flair, picking and choosing from campaigns like Buy Local First week, America Unchained!, and Plaid Friday, the colorful alternative to Black Friday. ShiftYourShopping.org provides access to resources from all of these campaigns, including templates that allow anyone to spread the message easily in their community. Anyone can participate and make a direct impact where they live.

“Our locally-owned businesses are an important part of our community, offering customer service that can’t be beat, and a commitment to our community that can’t be matched,” said Grafton. “Let’s support them this holiday season as they support our local economy year-round.”

Locally-owned businesses typically generate up to three times the local economic activity of national chains because independents spending more money in the local area, including using more local goods and services such as banking, printing, advertising, legal services, furnishings and more. Through this “multiplier effect,” the added taxes collected from local expenditures provide support for local schools, parks, law enforcement and more.

Numerous studies on the impact of buying from local, independent business have found impressive benefits. For example, a 2008 study of Kent County Michigan by Civic Economics projected shifting 10% of the county’s per capita spending from chains to locally-owned independent businesses would create “almost $140 million in new economic activity and 1,600 new jobs for the region.”

In addition, annual surveys over the last four years show that places that “go local” do better. For example, last year, the Institute for Local Self Reliance gathered data on annual revenue changes from nearly 2800 independent business. That data revealed independent businesses in communities executing long-term “buy local and independent” campaigns averaged a healthy 5.6 percent increase over the previous year. This gain more than doubled the 2.1 percent increase reported by independent businesses in areas lacking such campaigns. All of those campaigns operated with support from the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and/or Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE).

“Shift Your Shopping promotes the united vision and voice of thousands of real people in real communities across the U.S. and Canada committed to building strong local economies,” said BALLE Executive Director, Michelle Long.

Beyond the economic impacts, Shift Your Shopping is also about celebrating the uniqueness of your local community, AMIBA Director Jennifer Rockne said, “By shifting the focus of holiday shopping to locally owned, independent businesses, we can strengthen our communities and economy, create more jobs and — equally important — we can enjoy more relaxed and rewarding experiences doing holiday shopping.”

The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) are both national organizations dedicated to supporting local business alliances across the United States and Canada. Find more information about the national Shift Your Shopping campaign, which runs from November through December, at www.ShiftYourShopping.org.