After attending a BALLE conference, the president of T-shirt maker TS Designs launched steps to localize the entire sup- ply chain to enhance its push for social and ecological sustainability. Typically, a tee travels 16,000 miles before you put it on, but TS now collaborates with North Carolina farmers, cotton ginners and others to go from “dirt to shirt” in 750 miles.
What challenges loom for local business efforts, and how can they be overcome?
One of the biggest hurdles is that many people are innovating, but they are going it alone. BALLE connects businesses to other people, ideas and resources so they can learn from each other and not have to start from scratch.
Another barrier is financing. We have started to bring together pioneer- ing philanthropists that put a little funding in to create the conditions for businesses to proceed from there. The Cleveland Foundation, for example, recently helped seed a worker-owned laundry co-op.
Most economic development subsidies still favor large corporations rather than local businesses, but some shift when they see studies like those from Civic Economics, proving that the cost per new job is much cheaper by catalyzing and growing local busi- ness. In Phoenix, a study by BALLE network’s Local First Arizona showed how the state gets more high-paying jobs with benefits from a local office supply company, Wist Office Prod- ucts, than from a big box store. Wist also spends more money locally for services ranging from graphic de- sign to legal assistance, and donates more to local charities. In all, the study found that on a $5 million state contract, Arizona was losing half a million annually in economic leak- age by doing business with a nonlo- cal competitor. As a result, the city of Phoenix changed its procurement rules and now buys local.
Brian Clark Howard is a multimedia journalist and the co-author of Green Lighting, Geothermal HVAC and Build Your Own Wind Power System. Connect at
BrianClarkHoward.com.
natural awakenings November 2011 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72