Middle Tennessee is home to country music, civil war history, and perhaps unexpectedly, a community of small farms. Locally owned, regenerative farms dot the landscape of Nashville’s pop culture and rolling hills. You see their […]
To shop small means putting a face to the person who made your product. It means knowing the farmer you buy your tomatoes from or the baker who’s sourdough you love. Your neighborhood natural foods store, the co-op grocery store, the local farmers market, a locally owned boutique, a refill shop. These are examples of places you can go to support small shops in your town.
Shopping small is also an option when making online purchases. No matter where you choose to shop, seek out independently owned brands to ensure you’re supporting people rather than large corporations.
Shopping small gives you more control. When you shop small, you have direct contact with the shop owner, the maker, or the grower. This allows the opportunity for insight into how a product was made, where the ingredients came from, the history of the person who made it. Shopping small also makes it easy to shop from people who share your values. Be it organic, cruelty free, handmade, locally grown or a shared affinity for a community organization; shopping small allows for a connection with the person you are buying from.
Love Local is an online, curated directory of independently owned businesses that make, grow and sell sustainable products. Start a search to find small businesses across the U.S. offering sustainable products, services and food.
The word sustainability has been so overused, it’s hard to know what it really means. Sustainable businesses evaluate every area of the business and implement processes that don’t ravage or harm the environment. Sourcing a renewable raw material, recycling wastewater, using plant based dyes, eliminating the use of virgin materials, powering a plant with renewable energy, composting. These are a few examples of ways a company can operate without doing harm to the environment, eliminate waste and create healthier products for the end user. Additionally, sustainable businesses create products that can be reconstituted with the natural environment in a safe and healthy way.
Love Local features a list of farmers markets across the U.S.. Search Love Local to find a market in your town, get important information, directions and even see a list of vendors to help plan your trip.
Artisans are people who have perfected a technique for making something, for example, baking sourdough bread. Artisans hand make products using their skills. A lot of small businesses are owned and operated by artisans offering their handmade goods.
An eco-friendly product is one that does no harm to the Earth. Sometimes you can tell whether or not a product is eco-friendly by assessing the packaging. Is it plastic, a plant based plastic alternative, reusable glass, recyclable paperboard? Reading the label is also essential to knowing if a product is eco-friendly. Look for certifications, read the ingredients, are there things you can’t pronounce, artificial flavors or dyes? You also have to consider the company that makes the product to ensure they operate in an environmentally friendly manner.
