Why Buy Local?

Jim Thorpe and our neighboring towns in Carbon County, PA are all built upon a sense of community that is hard to find in today's world. This is part of what makes living here so unique - and so worth preserving. Doing business with other local businesses is one of the best things we can do for our communities, now and in the future.

Here's why:

1. Though figures vary somewhat according to the study you read, for every $100 you spend with a local business, more than $50 stays here. For every $100 spent at a chain or franchise store, only $15 stays.

2. Communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character are more likely to attract entrepreneurs and new investment. Residents of Jim Thorpe and Carbon County place a high value on individuality and consider our homegrown enterprises a source of pride.

3. Entrepreneurship fuels America's economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to improve their quality of life. Plus, the success of locally owned, independent businesses provides real-life inspiration to our young people, proving that they can stay in Carbon County and prosper on their own terms.

4. Where we shop, where we eat and hang out—all of it makes us call our communities home. Chain stores are growing more aggressive and they distance us from the unique characters of our communities.

5. Studies show that locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than national chains.

6. Local business owners tend to set up shop downtown and in walkable neighborhood business districts, rather than developing in suburban strip malls accessible only by automobile. Having a diverse array of businesses within walking or biking distance reduces the amount of driving residents must do to shop for goods and services. It also helps to conserve land, limit sprawl and lessen traffic and air pollution.

7. Independent businesses are owned by people who live in Carbon County and are committed to investing in our future. Studies have found that locally owned businesses contribute more than twice as much of their revenue to charitable causes as corporate chains do. And advocates of local causes find that local business owners are generally much more accessible than executives of large corporations based in other states.

8. Small neighborhood and downtown businesses require less public infrastructure and make more efficient use of city services compared to sprawling big-box stores and shopping centers, which are far more costly in terms of road work and police services, according to studies.

9. A marketplace of many small businesses helps to ensure more innovation and competition, and lower prices over the long term. Independent businesses, choosing products based on what their local customers need and desire, not a national sales plan, guarantees a more diverse range of product and service choices.

10. Local business owners and employees often possess a level of expertise and a passion for the products they sell that is unmatched by employees and managers of national chains. They also tend to have a greater interest in getting to know their customers—who are, after all, also their neighbors. Simply put, local owners and employees take a special pride in their trade.

*Sources: Portland, Maine Buy Local and http://www.newrules.org