Winter 2020 Newsletter

Cornerstone Group © 2020 ALL WEST COMMUNICATIONS • 866.ALL.WEST (255.9378) • www.allwest.com Home Sweet Hometown Shopping Let’s all try to take “home sweet home” a few steps farther and make shopping locally tops on your New Year’s resolutions. Step out your door and down the street to shop at local businesses. It may cost a little more than buying from big-box stores or online retailers, but our community experiences many valuable benefits when we shop locally. They include: Local Character and Prosperity In an increasingly homogenized world, communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character have an economic advantage. Community Well-Being Locally owned businesses build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers, linking neighbors in a web of economic and social relationships and contributing to local causes. Keeping Dollars in the Local Economy Compared to chain stores, locally owned businesses contribute a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy through event sponsorships, scholarship programs and nonprofit support, enriching the whole community. Job and Wages Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do. Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship fuels America’s economic innovation and prosperity and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class. Shopping at small businesses helps support entrepreneurship. Product Diversity Many small businesses, each selecting products based on the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices than national purchasing decisions. Building Relationships Shopping locally is a great way to build and nurture relationships, whether by making new friends or networking to explore job opportunities. Keeping Tabs on Quality Shrinking the distance between business owner and customer helps both parties keep tabs on quality and respond quickly to any issues. As your local communications provider, All West thanks you for your support and encourages you to shop locally whenever possible. Working together, we all win. Bring Your Own Bags “Paper or plastic?” What’s your typi- cal response to that question? To be an earth-friendly shopper, the best response is to say, “Neither. I brought my own.” Choosing reusable bags instead of paper or plastic ones is a change in behavior that makes a real difference to the environment—pro- vided enough of us do it. It’s estimated that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used, and discarded, annually worldwide. When these bags are discarded, they break down and harm the environ- ment by killing marine mammals and contaminating soil and water. Think paper bags are better? The United States cuts down 14 million trees per year simply to supply the demand for paper shopping bags, and it requires more energy to produce and ship paper bags than it does plastic. All you have to do is buy some reus- able bags, keep them in your car, and remember to take them into stores. It’s a habit worth developing, and Mother Nature will thank you.