If there’s any doubt that buying local is a growing trend among the nation’s consumers, it can be put to rest by this odd bit of news: In March, corporate giant Tyson Foods announced it would start sourcing naturally raised angus beef within 60 miles of where the cattle are raised in order to meet the growing consumer demand for local foods in the Pacific Northwest.
Tyson? Really? It’s enough to make you spit your FIJI water (bottled in the Fiji Islands and shipped halfway around the world in plastic bottles to your grocer’s fridge) on your computer screen.
Of course, the buy local craze is not news to Dane Buy Local, which was started eight years ago as a way to encourage sustainability, strengthen community ties, and boost the local economy. And it’s not news to Kay-Tee Franke, a local business owner and member of Dane Buy Local’s board of directors.
“When we surveyed our members, we asked them to score on a scale of 1 to 10 how important it was to their customers that they were locally owned, and they scored that 8.2 out of 10,” said Franke, who owns Engaging Results Communications, a local company focused on mobile marketing solutions. “So that comes from feedback that they’re getting. They’re using it as a marketing tool to tout the fact that they’re locally owned. That didn’t happen 10 years ago. Ten years ago, it was ‘who has the cheapest price or the most extravagant products?’ and now we’re starting to look at more of the intangibles.”
Of course, evidence that the buy local movement is gaining traction is now visible everywhere – from the popularity of craft beers to the growth of farmers markets to the success of authors such as Michael Pollan – and buy local advocates are increasingly trotting out hard numbers to back up their gentle persuasion.
A January survey by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance provided a snapshot of the buy local craze and how it’s playing out nationwide. The organization surveyed 1,768 independent businesses across 49 states over an eight-day period in January. Among the survey’s findings:
- More than three-quarters of businesses said that public awareness of the purported benefits of supporting locally owned businesses had increased in the previous year.
- Independent retailers reported holiday sales were up 6.7% on average, compared to all retailers, which saw 4.1% growth.
- Independent businesses in communities with active buy local campaigns reported revenue growth of 7.2% in 2011, compared with growth of 2.6% for local businesses in areas without a campaign.
Closer to home, Dane Buy Local is flexing its rhetorical muscles as well. The organization recently shared findings from its Economic Impact Survey 2011, which showed the robust impact the organization’s 625 members have had on the local economy.
Among that survey’s findings:
- Dane Buy Local members created 467 jobs in 2011, for an increase of 11%.
- DBL members paid out more than $85 million in salaries and more than $9 million in state and local taxes.
- DBL members contributed more than 178,000 volunteer hours to their communities and almost $2.4 million to nonprofits.
Dane Buy Local also points to a 2008 study by Local First, a Grand Rapids, Mich., buy local organization. Titled “Local Works! Examining the Impact of Local Business on the West Michigan Economy,” the study found that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 stays in the local economy, whereas for every $100 spent at a non-locally owned company, just $43 stays in the local economy.
A local – and national – trend
Madison’s buy local group is currently among the five largest in the nation. That should come as no surprise to the people who live here, but according to Franke, the interest in buying local in Dane County is merely a reflection of the interest nationwide, particularly in the Midwest.
“It is happening in many communities throughout the country, and I think we benefit from that as a local group because there are many groups speaking the same language,” said Franke. “As we hit the tough economic times that we did a couple of years ago, what I hear from our members is it almost forced us all in a local community like Madison to take a step back and think about the priorities. Where is our money going when we’re shopping for produce or shopping for clothing at a retail store? Beyond just products that we’re putting in our hands, where are those dollars going?”
Of course, everyone has his or her own reasons for buying local. Some are focused on sustainability, while others are more interested in fostering a healthy local economy. For others, buying local is simply about supporting one’s neighbors and the psychological boost that can give the customer.
“What we’ve been finding in speaking with members is that everyone has their unique reason right now for buying local, and for some of them it has to do with the environment, and for some of them it’s truly driven by the economic impact, while for others it has to do more with the intangible – that feeling of being able to shop at a local business and see that business flourish. … And whether you’re a B-to-C or B-to-B company, it boils down to relationships, and trust and integrity a lot of times.”
Right now, many buy local organizations are encouraging consumers to shift 10% of their spending to local businesses. The authors of the Local Works! study claim that such a shift would create approximately 1,600 jobs in Kent County, Mich. (which had a population of 602,000 at the 2010 census, compared to Dane County’s 488,000), while boosting local wages by as much as $53 million.
Of course, many observers would claim that any company that can keep costs down – be it Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, or any other big-box retailer – has demonstrated its efficiency and worthiness in the free market, and that buy local programs are misguided at best and feel-good pabulum at worst. In addition, say skeptics, buy local rhetoric often ignores the good that larger corporations do in local communities, and the local jobs those big retailers create.
For Franke, however, the issue remains the overall health of local communities, whether the big boxes have a legitimate role to play or not.
“If you’re going to spend $10, and if something is 10 cents cheaper across the street at the non-locally owned business, is it really worth transferring that money to save 10 cents?” said Franke. “When we take a look at the challenges that we’ve been facing in southern Wisconsin, how do we make a quick and long-term impact on Madison changing that? And that’s by recycling that money in our local community and attracting money from outside into that local community.
“It’s not about only buying local, but it’s about thinking local first, so if you can’t get the product or service at a competitive rate in the Dane County area, then by all means you have to make a sound business and personal purchasing decision and go elsewhere, but I think it’s worth taking a look at your local options first.”
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