Celebrating Local Independence
"Buy Local" Movement Brings New Meaning to July Fourth
by Selin Gok, age 17
Next
week, millions of Americans will celebrate our nation’s
Independence on the Fourth of July. Local Dane County businesses will
also mark the holiday. These locally owned businesses explore what it
means to be independent.
Dane
Buy Local, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 to generate a
sustainable local economy through education and collaboration, is
participating in “Independents Week.” This seven-day campaign,
spanning June 27 to July 7, honors community entrepreneurship and
local business members.
The
“buy local” movement offers community economies’ a plethora of
benefits. Economists suggest that money spent locally can turn over
up to six times, in comparison to money cycled through large, distant
corporations. Local vendors can keep these profits to create new jobs
or to support other local businesses.
Buy
local organizations also build networks in, and spur closeness among,
communities. Dane Buy Local, for example, now includes more than 800
business members. Additionally, this organization values
environmentally-friendly practices, encourages wise land use among
its members, and produces less air and traffic pollution than
national, corporate companies do.
Madison
businesses involved in this movement include A Room of One’s Own,
Eye Contact, Four Star Video, and Serrv. Each of these businesses
promises to offer special discounts and promotions throughout
Independents Week. The full list of businesses participating in this
campaign can be found at
danebuylocal.com
.
Perhaps
we can all add supporting the independence of local businesses to our
typical Independence Day traditions this year. I personally took the
pledge. I hope you will too.
[Source:
The Capital Times]
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