Take a walk around Market Days this weekend and you may see Concord's shoppers sporting a hot new fashion trend. Is it just you, or is everyone rocking an oversized green shopping tote? Well, if the folks at Be Local Concord have their way, those jolly green bags will be omnipresent.
Be Local Concord is a coalition of locally-owned businesses banding together to provide Concordians with an incentive for shopping at their stores. The movement, which already has 50 businesses and non-profits signed up as founding members, launches at Market Days. For $10, shoppers can sign up for a year's membership. In return, members get a tote bag and a wallet-size card. Show either of them at participating businesses and get access to discounts and promotions exclusive to Be Local members.
“We're trying to raise awareness about how important it is to support locally-owned businesses,” founding member Bill Peterson said. According to the statistics produced by the Small Business Administration and the Rocky Mountain Institute, $60 out of every $100 spent at an independently owned business is circulated back into the local economy, compared to only $20 at a chain store and $6 at a big box retailer.
Anyone interested in joining the Be Local movement should look for their booth at Market Days. People who sign up during Market Days will also be entered in a drawing to win a gift basket stocked with goods from the participating businesses. After Market Days, you can pick up sign-up forms at Gondwana, Just Be, Hermanos and Bead It.
