Ten Reasons for Shopping Locally - New London, NH

Here is a re-print an article by Jessie Levine, New London NH’s town administrator on the benefits of shopping locally. To read Levine’s entire article (12/7/2010) titled “Budget Update & Shopping Locally,” visit the New London town website.

By Jessie Levine

You may have noticed that we have some new residents in New London, as the nutcracker soldiers began showing up around town early last week. The nutcrackers are the brainchildren of Destination New London, a group of local businesses working together to encourage people to shop locally this holiday season (and always). I thought I’d take this opportunity to remind everyone why I think shopping locally is important to New London.

Protect Local Character and Prosperity: By supporting locally-owned businesses, you maintain our unique and wonderful community. Our local businesses are here for us – let’s shop here for them!

1. Enhance Community Well-Being: Locally-owned businesses are good neighbors and contribute to local causes. If we don’t support our local businesses, they will not be here to support our special events, golf tournaments, raffle fundraisers, etc.
2. Encourage Local Decision Making: Local ownership means that decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions. Local businesses are caring and responsive to our needs.
3. Keep Dollars in the Local Economy: Dollars spent in locally-owned businesses have three times the impact on the community as dollars spent at national chains. Money spent in catalogs, on-line or in destination shopping centers does not come back to support our local economy.
4. Create Jobs and Improve Wages: Shopping locally creates jobs and promotes community development. Locally-owned businesses create local jobs with better wages and benefits.
5. Support Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship fuels our economy and elevates our families. Empty store fronts do not.
6. Reduce Public Costs: Local stores in town centers require less infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services than big box stores and shopping malls do.
7. Advance Environmental Sustainability: Local stores help sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers, which reduce sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution. Save gas – shop here!
8. Increase Competition: A competitive marketplace of small businesses ensures innovation and low prices. A rising tide raises all ships.
9. Encourage Product Diversity: A multitude of small businesses selecting products based on the needs of local customers guarantees a broader range of product choices.

Why would you want to deal with Route 12A traffic, anyway? West Lebanon could really use a few roundabouts…