‘Tis the season to be jolly proud of our local, independent businesses

Published: 17 December 2020

In his regular feature, Denis the Dustcart would like to talk about shopping local. Exeter is brimming with independent businesses, from Paris Street to Gandy Street to the hive of local that is Fore Street.

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‘Tis the season to be jolly proud of our local, independent businesses.

Exeter is brimming with them, from Paris Street to Gandy Street to the hive of local that is Fore Street.

And they’ve all been through one of the toughest years imaginable.

It’s never been more important to support local, independent shops and businesses.

Supporting local means supporting the local economy. It means the local community benefitting directly from money spent locally and then spending that money locally. The money stays, to a greater extent, local – contributing less to the global consumer push and rush.

The more we can support local businesses, the more we will be encouraging local business growth and infrastructure. Strong local economies, relying less on global consumerism, have positive impacts on our communities, our society, our environment and, inevitably, on our pace of life.

By encouraging a strong local business infrastructure, we create a system of interdependence. Local businesses on Exeter’s Fore Street, for example, supported each other during lockdown, combining deliveries and offering their expertise to one another, helping to sustain each other and keep each other afloat.

When local businesses become a community serving the wider community, everyone benefits.

Consuming locally also means, generally speaking, consuming more sustainably. It means less waste, fewer transport miles, fewer emissions.

Where we support local growers, bakers, restaurants, cafes, clothes shops and all the other wonderful stores of which Exeter boasts so many, we are supporting greater sustainability – environmentally and economically.

Buying local can have global benefits. And the greatest gift we can give ourselves and our children is a better future.