‘Buy Local’ campaigns work

Shop Local. Eat Local. Stay Local. Whatever the slogan, the 140 or so “Buy Local” campaigns instituted across the U.S. on behalf of independent businesses by independent business alliances and local-first groups appear to be working. According to a study by the Institute of Local Self-Reliance, independent businesses in communities with such campaigns fared better than those without in 2010. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (64 percent) said they believed that public awareness of the benefits of buying locally had increased as a result of the campaigns.