As a small business owner, this really made me think.
Dave Gorman toured America as part of a stageshow and was surprised by the homogeneous, faceless corporate experience he had from coast to coast in hotels, gas stations, and restaurants. So he took a second trip, with the specific goal of only spending money in non-chain, Mom and Pop businesses - and then he wrote a book and made a film about his experiences.
Dave summarizes his experience here:
http://www.davegorman.com/projects_america_unchained.htmlIt's a great idea. Avoid the gigantic chains, and spend your money where the economic benefits will be realized in your own community. Initiatives like the 100-Mile Diet (
http://100milediet.org/), focusing strictly on food, provide a very clear-cut definition of what it means to shop locally, and why it makes sense to do so.
However, in my experience, for most of the purchases we make there are grey areas. For example, the Home Hardware store in Selkirk, where I often shop, has a large national corporate identity and the power of a buying group behind it, but the store itself is still independently owned by a local family. My local gas station, in the sprawling metropolis of Tyndall, MB, is a Domo outlet connected to a small business that also sells yard equipment, livestock feed, and repairs small engines. I may be shopping locally when I buy my lawn tractor from this same retailer, who knows me by name (hi Ed!), but considering the tractor is a Husqvarna, whose corporate tagline is "Global leader in outdoor power products," I know most of my money is still going into the pockets of The Man.
It's made me think a little more about my own buying habits, especially as a small business providing a specialized service. As is so often the case, how to do the right thing is not clear-cut.
Many thanks to the enthusiastic planning committee and of course the 30+ participants who brought their horses and their pledge sheets for this event - all proceeds were donated to CancerCare Manitoba Foundation in support of breast cancer research, treatment, and prevention. We had a beautiful day of sunshine for our ride and if there's a nicer way to spend an autumn Sunday afternoon than a leisurely ride across the prairie, I don't know what it is. Especially if that ride is followed by a pig roast feast.
