The wild consumerism of this most wonderful time of the year could be considered gross and unnecessary, but let’s try to flip the script. I’d love to make this coming weekend about why it’s so important to shop with small businesses and ethical and sustainable companies year-round.
This year I really hope you’ll vote with your dollars. I hope you’ll support artists and small businesses you love. I hope you’ll give thoughtful gifts that were made by people with love and care, and by people who are taken care of. I hope you consider the working conditions of the company you’re supporting when you spend money and acknowledge that by spending money with them, you’re saying that you want them to keep doing what they’re doing - whether that’s creating jobs where people are respected and treated fairly or where people are taken advantage of. I’m personally challenging myself to buy ZERO gifts on Amazon this season.
Black Friday got its name because it was traditionally the day during the year when retail companies became profitable (meaning their numbers went from red to black). Let that sink in: you could be helping amazon + friends profit more, or you could literally make or break a small business.
I’ll wrap this up with a few fun facts from my girl @lelabarker about the impact small businesses have (and head to her profile for the worlds greatest small biz gift guide):
Seventy-seven million Americans are employed by small business. That’s 2 out of every 3 private sector jobs in the United States.
According to the SBA, small businesses have created 66% of all new jobs since 1995.
Every $10million of spending at a local company creates 57 jobs while that same spending at Amazon creates just 14 jobs.
A series of studies by the research firm Civic Economics found that 48 percent of purchases at local independent businesses go right back into the community, compared to less than 14 percent of sales made at chain stores.
Happy Thanksgiving, happy shopping, and happy voting with your dollars!