November is when we promote Shopping Small & Local! There are so many benefits to shopping locally- you keep money in the local economy, you create local jobs, you nurture your community. But let’s stop and think how we can help the environment by shopping locally!

Tatiana Schlossberg’s book, “Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have,” is a MUST read! She encourages us to remember that all the things we wear and eat don’t exist just for us…they have a wider impact and we are all in this together.

Using our dollars and buying from companies that are transparent is so important. Due to a lack of transparency with big corporations, our actions have consequences we aren’t even aware of.

Local vendors can (and will) tell you where they’re products are from. We should not support those who don’t tell us what they’re doing and where it comes from. It is always better to know more and make more informed decisions.

We need to live in a way that honors our values. If we value protecting the Earth, we should stop and think, “Do I really need this?” Even if we aren’t going to fix everything, remember what is at stake.

Shopping local is one small way that we can pay attention and make sure others with destructive intentions don’t make decisions for us.

Sincerely,

Jordan Ilderton, CPA