Why You Should Support Small and Local Businesses
- Angela Sanford
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
by Raegan Densmore
In East Hants, we are lucky to be in a tight-knit community where there are numerous local businesses to support. This month is independent retailer month, which brings light as to why independent retailers are important in today's world and why everyone should support small businesses if they can. There are numerous reasons as to why supporting small and local businesses is beneficial for environmental and ethical purposes, and community ones as well.
We live in a time period where consumption is a tremendous issue that has detrimental effects on the environment. Small businesses have much less of an effect on the environment in comparison to their larger counterparts. In order for big corporations to pump out as many items as they do, they focus on quantity much more than quality, leading to the cheap production we see in items today, the smaller sizes/portions, the use of cheaper and more harmful material used and lastly the transportation of these products. All of these create more waste on our earth and thus, pollution. Small and local businesses do not create such massive amounts of waste, and do not require nearly as much transportation, and so, they reduce the carbon footprint typically created by businesses.
Staying on the topic of massive production, small businesses do not promote the exploitation of workers that large corporations do. Not only do large corporations negatively affect the environment, they also negatively affect people’s lives with the use of harmful manufacturing facilities such as sweatshops. These workers in these facilities often face challenges such as unfair wages with long hours, deteriorating health due to unsafe working conditions, and forced labour including on children. Supporting small businesses, being much smaller and often locally produced, means not supporting these exploitative practices and promotes the use of more ethical ones.
On a more community-based level, small businesses also help to build and bond a community. For example, oftentimes driving through Kennetcook, I see a long line of people at Summertime Treats. Unlike typical long line ups, they never seem peeved about having to wait, instead, they talk to each other like friends and family. Summertime Treats give kids something to look forward to after their sports practice, or a family an excuse to get out of the house on a hot day. It gives the community something to go to, to enjoy, and to bond together.
Supporting small businesses help boost the local economy, as well as allow local artists and entrepreneurs to promote themselves. The community of Maitland is another great example of being strengthened through local businesses as it often has events held and supported by these businesses and also uses these events to support local artists and entrepreneurs as well. And so, the community members always have something to look forward to, and with their support, these businesses are able to give back to the community. The events in Maitland allow local artists and entrepreneurs to not only have ways to promote themselves, but also their creativity and uniqueness, and thus promoting diversity and inclusion as well. The High Tides Bulletin is another example of that, as it has been a way for me and others to promote ourselves as writers to our community and more. It's small businesses that help strengthen a bond in the community and that community allows us creators to express ourselves. Our area is proof that that is so.
In the end, supporting small businesses has numerous positive impacts. Not only are these impacts on global levels such as environmentally and ethically, but also on more intimate levels such as building a bond within a community, boosting the local economy and supporting local artists. If you, as a consumer are able to, it is always better to support small, and local artists instead of large corporations. Because your support does so much for a creator, a community, and the world.
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