Shop Small & Support Your Community
- Posted on
- By Dr. Jill Tack
- Posted in green shopping, shop local, shop small, small business saturday, supporting local businesses
- 0
The Pet Beastro is proud to be a part of the metro Detroit pet community. We love seeing familiar faces come in to pick up their dog’s favorite treats or stop by on Supplement Sundays to try something new for their cat. And we love when we can give back to our customers and our community through fundraising and adoption events. There are a lot of benefits to supporting local businesses that not only feel good for the consumer but also benefit the community on a whole as well.
The Pet Beastro is proud to be a part of the metro Detroit pet community. We love seeing familiar faces come in to pick up their dog’s favorite treats or stop by on Supplement Sundays to try something new for their cat. And we love when we can give back to our customers and our community through fundraising and adoption events. There are a lot of benefits to supporting local businesses that not only feel good for the consumer but also benefit the community on a whole as well.
Now Hiring – Locally
Did you know that small businesses create more local jobs? For example, a chain store creates 1.3 local jobs for every $1 million in sales whereas a local toy store creates 2.2 local jobs. Supporting a mix of local and nationwide or regional stores helps to spread income to businesses that support the community in different ways.
Staying Close to Home
On average, 48 percent of each purchase at local independent businesses was recirculated locally, compared to less than 14 percent of purchases at chain stores. This results in local businesses having a vested interest in the communities they serve. When they thrive, it allows others to thrive and create a vibrant shopping area that works to support the progress and continued growth of the area.
Another benefit is that when small businesses do well, it allows them to share the love. For example, The Pet Beastro puts effort and research into supporting this chain by working mostly with small independent manufacturers. So the decisions you, the customer, make helps small businesses like us keep the Shop Small love going, having a direct and positive impact on not only our community but other small communities.
Green Shopping
One added bonus to shopping locally is the lessened environmental impact. This is very clear when you compare shopping at farmers markets to your standard grocery store experience. With the distance required to ship food, a lot of things come in to play – smog-producing nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gases emitted into the environment, among others. When you weigh that against a small farm producing food locally to sell at your community’s farmers’ market, you not only are contributing to support a local business but you are also getting a fresher product without all of the additional packaging most large stores use to protect their product.
Shop Wisely
When looking to “shop small” and support local businesses, it’s important to remember that not all experiences may accomplish what you are hoping to accomplish. Some small businesses ship items from other companies that handle production in one country, transport it to another for warehousing and then ship it to your local company for your purchase. As certain products can’t be produced locally due to their unique qualities, consider what is worth the travel time and its effects and what is best served from a local source.
So whether it’s visiting The Pet Beastro, your local weekend farmers’ market or independent coffee shop, consider the power your decision has to support the small businesses in your community that help give it the unique flavor and business base that helps it flourish.
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