My nearest small town of 900 is undertaking a "Buy Local" Campaign. I found some good things on the internet about how to undertake such a campaign, but they didn't include fsm type tools -- i.e. surveys, prompts, rewards, pledges, etc. If anyone has info like this or could give me advice on where to find it so we wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel, I'd really appreciate getting it.
Thanks.
Nancy Adams
Buy Local Campaigns
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Hi,
This is an interesting topic and is gaining popularity in many locales. I am familiar with BALLE, but I would like to know if anyone out there is specifically trying to support local environmentally friendly businesses. Businesses that are INTENTIONALY trying to be sustainable in some way as opposed to just supporting local businesses that may be selling products that are not sustainable for many reasons.
1. imported from great distances, e.g. China
2. made of environmentally unsustainable materials, e.g. vinyl
3. disposable or otherwise not recyclable or reusable
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Theresa Sauren
Reduce the juice
www.reducethejuice.ca
Hi All
Sustainable Connections (www.sconnect.org) in Bellingham, Washington used CBSM to design their Buy Local Campaign, and has had a lot of success with it. I don't know if their materials are publically accessible, but you can access them as a business network member of Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (http://www.livingeconomies.org), which is a network of networks of locally owned socially responsible businesses. Sustainable Connections regularly presents about using CBSM in Buy Local Campaigns during our annual conference - which is this week in Boston. I'd imagine buying an info kit about starting a Buy Local campaign ($20 at the BALLE website) would have some of the information you need. (I founded an Ann Arbor BALLE-affiliated nonprofit group, www.thinklocalfirst.net, which is how I know about it. We've also used some of the techniques in our Think Local First campaign.)
Lisa Dugdale
Hi Nancy
Not sure where you are but Michelle Long, of the Bellingham, WA area, has done an amazing job of creating sustainability awareness and local networks in her area. She is now the Business Alliance for Living Economies (BALLE) chair and you can find lots of great information and links on this site: http://www.sconnect.org/
Peace, love and justice,
Lisa Barrett
Bowen Island, BC
The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies is a national network of buy local campaigns: www.livingeconomies.org. They've been active for several years and have a lot to share as a "one stop shop". Wisconsin Partners for SustainAbility (WiscPSA) founded the Dane Buy Local initiative which has nearly 300 members. Some materials/events are geared toward the businesses in the community; others are targeted toward consumers. Some materials/events we developed include:
*A design template for a "Friendly Faces, Neighborhood Places" poster that small businesses could order in full color at a really reasonable price, inserting their own business photo
*Several versions of a Dane Buy Local flier including 5 reasons to shop local, plus a business name directory on the back side *Bumper stickers (wouldn't recommend doing this one)
*Door/Window decals to help with brand and visibility
*Stories in local magazines and newspapers
*A quarterly newsletter
*Bi-monthly breakfast meetings
*Additional social networking activities
*Independents Day celebration
*Holiday kickoff celebration
*We're developing a pocket member directory which includes ad space plus some tips scattered throughout so it's more than a "telephone listing" type directory
*Twice a year WiscPSA does fundraising featuring on online auction that features products from Dane Buy Local merchants as well as our Wisconsin Green Exchange (currently being revised with a new green screening tool).
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I hope it helps.
Josie Pradella
WiscPSA
www.wiscpsa.org
Bellingham Washington has had a buy local campaign for several years. This website outlines past years' activities, their "Buy Local First" awareness survey results, and much more. http://www.sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal
Theresa Cross, MS RD CD
Tobacco Prevention and Education
Clark County Public Health
1601 E. 4th Plain Blvd
Vancouver WA 98666
Mailing address:
PO Box 9825
Vancouver WA 98666-8825
Hi there, I, too, would be interested in any research/studies on this topic!
Be well,
Holly
Hi Nancy Toledo,
Ohio recently launched a buy local campaign. You can access it at http://toledochooselocal.com/ . I'm not sure if the information you're looking for is on the website but there is contact information on the site.
Hope this helps.
Beth
Beth Stark-Posta
Curator of Behavioral Husbandry and Research
Green Team Chair
The Toledo Zoo
PO Box 140130 Toledo, OH 43614
419-385-5721 ext. 2051
I heard that the Portland, Oregon, Smart Trips program, a social marketing program geared toward fewer drive-alone car trips, has developed extensive materials, based on listening to the neighborhoods and individuals and tailoring to their needs. The program has been successful, and one of the results is increased local shopping. I heard about this through attending a webinar last Friday presented by www.Cullbridge.com and www.toolsofchange.com. The Portland spokespeople were Linda Ginenthal and Dan Bower.
Hope this helps.
Libby Comeaux
I heard that the Portland, Oregon, Smart Trips program, a social marketing program geared toward fewer drive-alone car trips, has developed extensive materials, based on listening to the neighborhoods and individuals and tailoring to their needs. The program has been successful, and one of the results is increased local shopping. I heard about this through attending a webinar last Friday presented by www.Cullbridge.com
Theresa,
There are also a number of initiatives that target businesses wanting to become green or greener. Wisconsin Partners for SustainAbility has developed a searchable database online - currently known as the statwide Greener Business Network, it has been renamed to the Wisconsin Green Exchange. The website has yet to be updated. We have a screening tool across a rainge of subjects that businesses complete; we then post their profile online to help consumers and businesses find one another. Other than a survey, we haven't done any real CBSM-type activities due to lack of resources. http://www.wiscpsa.org/priority-projects Co-op America has the national green pages, a listing of businesses nationwide that have gone through a rigorous screening process to get listed. http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/ Santa Monica has an impressive program for green business certification: http://www.smgbc.org/ A relative newcomer is MeGoGreen out of Chicago (http://www.megogreen.com/). They have created a coupon book of green businesses and are taking their model to various communities nationwide, from Chicago, to Madison, WI and beyond. They seem to be taking the incentive approach (a coupon book for consumers and inexpensive advertising for businesses) to gain visibility and collect green businesses under one umbrella. They are also actively working with local schools in the respective communities to do fundraising with these coupon books.
Best regards,
Josie Pradella