You don’t want the same old stuff. Your needs aren’t filled by conventional parenting products. We know that at bynature.ca because those products didn’t fill our needs either. It isn’t just that one size doesn’t fit all or that not everyone wants the same color. We know that whole categories of products don’t relate to your parenting. That is why we listen to you when you come to our store. We need to know what you need before we can make a recommendation.
A personal recommendation from a trained expert is just one of the benefits you get when you buy local at an independently owned store.
Both short-term and long-term, shopping local comes back to you. Short-term, you get what you want and need because you build trusting relationships with people you know. Longer-term you help build a sustainable community. Improvements feed improvements. A stronger local economy feeds into an even stronger local economy.
Your dollars spent locally continue to build your local economy. This local multiplier effect happens because of where the money goes after you spend it. For every dollar you spend locally, an average of 45 cents is reinvested locally. For every dollar you spend at a corporate chain owned and operated at a distance, only 15 cents is reinvested locally. Your money works harder for you and your neighbors when you spend it closer to home.
Another aspect of long-term sustainability for your local community is environmental. Environmental improvements—or sometimes just a slowing of environmental losses—means your children are more likely to be able to live rich, full lives in the same community where you are raising them.
Shopping locally is energy efficient. Walkable towns reduce driving and sprawl and the pollution that comes with both. Buying locally from a store that deliberately sources goods as close to home as possible also means the stuff you buy hasn’t been transported around the world just to get to you. Both the stuff and you as the shopper are more energy efficient when you shop at a local store that focuses on local goods.
As the benefits build up, you start to see bigger benefits for yourself and your family over time.
Shopping locally boosts the value of your house. American Express OPEN found that houses in neighborhoods near successful, locally owned businesses gained 50% more in value when compared to the broader housing markets in those cities. That is real value for you and your family. (Data over 14-year period from American Express OPEN through Independent We Stand.)
bynature.ca in Orillia, Ontario, is an independent natural parenting store owned by a local family. We help build a strong community, and we help you find the products you need to support your parenting choices.
10 Benefits When You Shop Locally
Buying from a local, independent retailer does a lot of good in your community. We invite you to read more about the benefits from the Institute for Local Self-reliance.
- Local character and prosperity
- Community well-being
- Local decision-making
- Keeping dollars in the local economy
- Jobs and wages
- Entrepreneurship
- Public benefits and costs
- Environmental sustainability
- Competition
- Product diversity
