Take the Reins: Buy Local

Say you’re a pioneer traveling by horse and wagon through the wilderness. Suddenly, bandits jump out and attack. They kill the wagon driver, gunshots ring in your ears, your horses panic and take off running wildly. What do you do? You take over, take the reins and regain control. Today’s economy bears some resemblance to this Wild West scene. The headlines are full of news about how federal agents are coming to our aid with millions and trillions of dollars in stimulus money, to rescue us from the ‘robbers.’ Does that mean we have to sit back helplessly? No, we can take the reins, and we can do it via Spokane’s local stimulus program: Buy Local. Economics 101 says there are two ways to fill the local economic pot: add new water, and plug leaks so water already in the pot won’t leak out. Economic leakage happens every time we send our dollars out of our local economy. But when we spend a dollar locally, that dollar circulates many times as it pays for local goods and services. And one of those jobs could be your own. Buy Local movements have been taking root around the U.S. for at least 20 years. Ithaca Hours were created in 1991 during the last recession as a way for people to trade time and talent even though they were a bit short on treasure. Local currency systems have been adopted around the globe since then. Much like our own One World Café, Judy Wicks started her White Dog Café in 1983 as a way to build a sustainable local food economy in her Philadelphia neighborhood. BALLE, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, grew from there, and BALLE’s first national coordinators were right here in Washington state: Michelle and Derek Long in Bellingham. They’re still leading Sustainable Connections, whose website touts things like Strong Community, Healthy Environment, Meaningful Employment, and Buying Local First. AMIBA, or American Independent Business Alliance, started in Boulder, Colo., in 1997, but now is based just a stone’s throw away from Spokane in Bozeman, Mont. Even the venerable American Booksellers Association, founded in 1900, launched Indie Bound in 2008, “a community-oriented movement that brings together booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances—anyone with a passionate belief that healthy local economies help communities thrive.” Spokane is not a stranger to all this. Michael Shuman, BALLE board member and author of Going Local, has spoken here at least twice in the last few years. And like one of AMIBA’s co-founders who was a local independent bookstore owner, Spokane bookstore owners Sue Bradley (Tinman Gallery, Garland) and Shannon Ahern and Chris O’Hara (Auntie’s, downtown) have been on this bandwagon for years. In Sue’s presentation for the Local Economy session at the 2007 Spokane Bioneers conference, she quoted from Civic Economics’ study on the economic impact of a locally-owned bookstore in Austin, Texas, which demonstrated that local merchants generate three times as much local economic activity as nationally-based chain stores, adjusted for revenue. Now with the economy keeping us awake at night, the buy local consciousness is starting to permeate our purchasing decisions even more. Greater Spokane Incorporated (the region’s Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council) launched its Buy Local campaign earlier this year. “Spending locally just makes sense, whether it’s for a computer or a contractor,” said GSI Marketing Director Dawn Picken. “The job you save may be your neighbor’s, or your own.” Local businesses are also the essence of local character. They make Spokane a unique shopping destination, bringing back tourists and keeping our neighborhoods strong. An example is The Spokesman-Review’s BizFinderNW.com site which focuses on connecting local people with local business. It’s a comprehensive directory of local businesses, and includes everything from restaurant reviews to discount coupons. Shopping locally also keeps sales tax revenue in our local economy. Local government services are funded primarily by sales tax, property tax and utility tax. When more sales tax dollars remain in our local economy, more money is available to pay for public safety (police and fire), libraries and parks. Civic Economics’ 2007 San Francisco Retail Diversity Study, here traced the economic impact of retailers which recirculate money locally by employing local labor, procuring goods and services locally, making charitable contributions, and, in the case of locally-owned firms, retaining profits in the community. They found that if market shares for local merchants increased by a mere 10 percent of the total, it would have an enormous beneficial economic impact on the City of San Francisco. This small change in consumer behavior or public sector purchasing could yield nearly 1,300 new jobs and $72 million in new income for workers. What about your investments? Assuming you’re one of the lucky ones with anything left to invest, do you know what impact you’re having on the world? Most of our investments are out of sight, out of mind, far away where they don’t directly impact our lives. But local investments can be geared to make Spokane the place you’ll still want to call home in the future. In the past, socially responsible investment (SRI) funds focused on not investing in something (war, alcohol, etc.). New SRI options now use selection criteria based on sustainability frameworks such as the Triple Bottom Line (economic, environmental and social capital) or The Natural Step to intentionally drive the outcome in a positive and local direction. For example, the Main Market’s recent groundbreaking featured the chairman of Investors’ Circle, Woody Tasch, whose new book, “Inquiries in the Nature of Slow Money,” is about the importance of investing patient “nurture” (as opposed to venture) capital into local food production. The Main Market is currently selling memberships in their co-op for people who want to invest in local food. Local food is fresher than food that has traveled an average of 1,500 miles to our table, so it tastes better and is healthier to eat. But the advantages really mount up when you consider the recent scare over salmonella in pistachio nuts or E. coli on spinach. The conditions that give rise to these types of bacterial contamination are much more easily controlled with locally produced foods. And then there’s all the fossil fuels used to transport that food to us. Locally sourced products of any kind save on the greenhouse gas emissions and high fuel costs related to shipping. Oil prices will rise again one day. At some point, those rising fuel costs may add so much to the price of imported goods that an item will cost more to buy than it is actually worth. One way to keep these costs under control is to produce as much locally as possible. So whether you’re shopping at the local farmers market or just want a good book to read, there are many small things we can each do in our everyday lives to make sure Spokane continues to be a thriving, healthy place to live and work. Susanne Croft is owner of Strategic SustainAbility Services in Spokane with an extensive background in sustainability issues.