“BUY LOCAL” by Mayor Jonathan Rothschild

With Black Friday marking the official start of the holiday shopping season, I want to encourage Tucsonans to “Buy Local.”

Buying from locally-owned businesses creates more jobs and keeps more money circulating in the community than buying online or from retail chains.

A 2002 study in Austin, Texas found that, of $100 spent at a chain store, just $13 remained in the local economy; whereas, of $100 spent at a local independent retailer, $45 remained in the local economy.

A 2008 study in Chicago, Illinois found that purchases at local independent retailers returned 58% more to the local economy than purchases at chain stores.

You get the picture. When we buy from locally-owned businesses, we invest in our community.

The “Buy Local” movement also has something to do with a sense of place. A chain store in one city is more or less the same in any other city. It’s the local merchants that contribute to the uniqueness of a city or region.
So travelers, too, would do well to buy from locally-owned businesses, as part of their travel experience.
Buying locally also benefits the environment. When an item is grown or made locally, there’s less transportation involved, which saves natural resources as well as money, and reduces pollution.

Tucson has a strong “locavore” community – people who look to buy food that’s produced locally. In fact, Tucson has applied to UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, to be designated an international City of Gastronomy, based on our locally-produced food and the long, rich, cultural heritage of food in this region.

The Christmas shopping season is officially Buy Local Month in Tucson, but you can take the pledge to shift 10% of your purchases to locally-owned businesses year-round. Sign up at Local First Arizona, http://localfirstaz.com. They even have a calculator to show the impact your pledge will have.

City governments in Arizona rely on sales tax, so this is an important time of year for us, as well as for local merchants. Local purchases fund our police and fire departments, our city parks, and many other services that help make this a great place to live.
So, add your community to your holiday shopping list and “Buy Local.” It’s a gift that keeps giving year-round.