[Durham INC] Campaign urges buying locally (article & editorial)

[John Schelp]

Campaign urges buying locally
By Jessye Holmgren-Sidell, Herald-Sun, 7 July 2011 (excerpts)

"Sustain-a-Bull" is back. This week, local merchants are offering daily deals and events in the hopes that consumers will turn to their shops for merchandise, rather than national chain and online stores.

Buying locally also "a really great way for businesses to support each other and support the community," said Sustain-a-Bull coordinator Amy Campbell, whose father, Tom Campbell, the co-owner of the Regulator Bookshop on Ninth Street, started the organization in 2010.

By participating in Sustain-a-Bull, local businesses have a better chance of standing up against big chain stores, Amy Campbell said, adding that if smaller business "band together," they can offer discounts like larger competitors that buy items in bulk.

"It's a way to keep your dollars in Durham," explained Campbell. "Three times more of your dollar will stay in the local economy if you buy locally. More taxes will stay in Durham and help fund public works, like schools and parks."

Also, local businesses are more likely to hire local employees, said Campbell, and independent stores are also more likely to buy locally, saving fuel and packaging, which not only helps the economy, but the environment as well.

While Sustain-a-Bull's message remains the same, a lot has changed since the first Buy Local week in December. The organization began with 25 stores participating. That number has roughly doubled, with around 50 stores offering daily discounts.

Vaguely Reminiscent, also located on Ninth Street, is one of the stores offering deals. Customers who spend $25 or more, get a free gift. Spend $30 or more and you will be entered in a drawing for a Vaguely Reminiscent gift card.

Karen Merowchek, who works at the store, said that joining Sustain-a-Bull is a way "to be a part of the community and raise awareness about independent businesses."

Katrin Thompson, who also works at Vaguely Reminiscent, added that "the citizens of Durham are really rallying around Sustain-a-Bull" and that everyone is very excited....

To find out more about Sustain-a-Bull and learn which local businesses are participating this week, go to www.sustainabull.net or contact Amy Campbell at info at sustainabull.net.

http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/news_durham

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Editorial: Indies, get organized
Herald Sun, 7 July 2011 (excerpts)

... [It's] the third day of Shop Independent Durham Week -- the brainchild of Independent Durham, a group of local business owners that clubbed together last fall. Independent Durham has created the Sustain-A-Bull campaign, which promotes locally owned businesses. The project began with 25 member stores offering discounts for holiday shopping. Nine months later, the participation in both the group and the Shop Independent Durham Week discount campaign has doubled. Through the weekend, locally owned stores will offer deals for people who are willing to ditch national chains and venture off the beaten path.

Many of the stores that participate in the Sustain-A-Bull campaign and the Independent Durham merchants association are what you'd expect, including downtown stalwarts Stone Bros. and Byrd nursery, thriving upstart Locopops, most of the stores and restaurants on Ninth Street, and many go-to indie restaurants including Parker & Otis, Watts Grocery and Toast...

A survey by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance found that independent businesses in an area with a strong "buy local" campaign had an average revenue growth of 5.6 percent in 2010, compared with a 2.1 percent average in areas where the merchants aren't organized.

We also encourage consumers to look into it -- in Minnesota, economists found that 68 cents of every $1 spent at locally owned businesses stayed in the local economy, compared with 43 cents for every $1 spent at national retailers.

...Independent Durham is right: A strong, cooperative group of indie stores can, as the group's website (www.sustainabull.net) says, "prevent Durham from becoming 'Anywhere U.S.A.'"

In the fierce competition for tourist dollars, shopping dollars and even major corporate relocations, can't-get-it-anywhere-else restaurants, merchandise and, yes, atmosphere translate into tangible economic benefits.

http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/opinion_hs_landing

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