By the Yard: Shopping Local Is Good for You Too!
Posted by Jen Lopez on Jul 10th 2019
Everyone loves online shopping: it’s so easy, convenient, and you get exactly what you want showing up at your doorstep. It would be naive to say we should refrain completely from online shopping—we are just not going to be able to put that toothpaste back in the tube. We should, however, be aware of our choices and make a conscious effort not to forget about the local businesses that make up our communities. Not only do these local businesses rely on us for their survival, but their survival benefits us as well. Let’s think about how:
- Local businesses are owned and operated by our friends, our neighbors, our kid’s best friend’s parents—all people in our communities. These people represent “the little guys.” Big online retailers and megalithic marketplaces are already getting enough tax breaks and other incentives; it's up to us to help out the Little Guys by supporting them with our dollars.
- Money spent locally in our communities goes back into local economies and helps us too. When we spend our money in a local quilt shop, that business pays taxes to our towns. That money goes to school, roads, police, and other local services in our towns—all making our lives better.
- Shopping local is much more fun and interactive than sitting behind a keyboard. In a time when “working from home” is all the rage, shopping local enables you to get out of the house, talk to other people, and learn about new patterns and projects you otherwise wouldn’t have known about.
- Local quilt shops have many unique products you would never find online, ranging from beautiful hand-dyed materials to tools and accessories made by local artists.
Now get out of your pajamas and make a trip to your local quilt shop. You will be glad you did!
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Please join us here every other Wednesday for another fun, fiber-filled installment of By the Yard. You can also find the newest development from By the Yard, the 2020 Wall Calendar for Quilters at www.bytheyardcomics.com/cal, sure to keep you in stitches all year long.
