5 Easy Ways You Can Support Local This Christmas
We recently highlighted a statistic on our social media account that if each of us spent an extra €20 a week in small businesses in Ireland over the next 3 months it would boost our local economy by €875 million! The statistic received a huge response, it brought home the realisation that even a small change can make a huge difference in supporting local. And now that it is 3 months until Christmas, it’s important to consider where we spend our money for our Christmas shopping.
To help you to make that difference and support local, we have put together a list of ways that you take action in the run up to Christmas.
1. SHOP LOCAL ONLINE
A whopping 70% of online shopping in Ireland goes to companies outside of Ireland according to this article from ThinkBusiness.ie. So while it looks like we’ve gotten more conscientious about supporting small businesses in person, we tend to overlook them while shopping online. Many Irish people are expected to shop online for Christmas this year due in order to be mindful of social distancing but the good news is that because many Irish businesses have updated their online selling platforms in the last few months, there has never been a better time to start shopping local online. All it takes is a change of habit!
2. LOOK OUT FOR IRISH COMPANIES SELLING IRISH PRODUCTS
Amplify the effect of your shopping local efforts by choosing to shop at businesses who source their supplies in Ireland, it means you can feel good about supporting multiple businesses with one purchase! There are countless ways to do this – switch to a local craft beer, buy from Irish owned retailers or shop at your local farmers markets. Just pause and think, could my purchase go further?
3. CONSIDER THE ARTS
Sometimes known as the ‘craic economy’, the Arts industry is full of life, culture and creativity but unfortunately has taken the hardest hit of them all this year so we need to show them some support too. Check out local musicians to see if they have made their tracks available online or dip onto the website for your local venue to see what small or alternative events they might be hosting. These would make for really thoughtful Christmas gifts for someone you care about this year!
4. FOLLOW, SHARE & WRITE A REVIEW
Follow your favourite small businesses and mention them on your social media accounts. You could even tag a friend in their posts when you see something you think they would love for Christmas. If you had a particularly positive experience, leave a review on Google or Facebook. All these things are free and simple and yet they will make a small business owner’s day, we guarantee it!
5. COMMIT
Take the Champion Green pledge now on championgreen.ie – this means promising to support local wherever possible and joining our community where you can learn about many more Irish businesses out there who might have all the things you are looking for! We’ll help to keep supporting local at the forefront of your mind and bring you new ways to do it.
Image credit to Annie Spratt, unsplash.com
