Many of us look for ways to give back during the holidays. We give our time and money to local charities, and invite our friends, families and neighbors into our homes to eat, drink and be merry. There’s another great way to give back to your community too, which has caught on in recent years: As you do your shopping in the coming holiday season, consider supporting local businesses and buying Maine-made products.
Shopping local helps boost our local economy. The Gorham Times recently reported that every $100 spent at a local Greater Portland area business contributes an additional $68 to the local economy. By comparison, $100 spent at a national chain store yields just $43 in local economic impact.
Shopping local also bolsters entrepreneurship, by helping small businesses keep their doors open and grow. This is good for the businesses, of course, but it also helps maintain more choices for consumers. A robust marketplace allows small businesses to innovate and compete with one another, which results in better products and lower prices in the long term.
There are benefits to shopping locally that extend beyond its quantifiable economic impact, too. Local businesses are an important part of our community’s character. They’re run by our neighbors — people with kids in our schools and homes in our neighborhoods, who sponsor little league teams, support charities, serve in local government, come to church suppers, and are a part of our community.
They also help us stand out from the crowd. For example, in Gorham we have several local breweries that are known across the state and region for their beer, and people come from all over for a pint. That’s an important part of who we are as a community.
Shopping local and buying Maine-made products is good for the environment, too. Buying food produced by a local farm, for example, has a lower carbon impact than buying food that was shipped across the country or world. Buying goods from a local retailer also requires less packaging materials, like Styrofoam or bubble wrap, which take a very long time to decompose. The environmental impact of driving long distances to go shopping, or rush shipping items purchased online, is significant too.
Earlier this year, the Gorham Town Council voted to officially recognize the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday, joining many other towns and cities across the country in recognizing the importance of small businesses for our communities. Make sure to get out and support our local Gorham businesses on Saturday, Nov. 30!
Finally, there are a few bills we will consider in the coming year that could help support local businesses and Maine-made goods: LD 1280, “An Act To Establish the Maine Buy American and Build Maine Act,” introduced by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, would require publicly funded construction projects to use Maine or American-made products and labor, while another bill introduced by Senate President Jackson, LD 1690, “An Act To Certify and Promote Products That Are Made in Maine,” would create an official “Maine Made” seal to help consumers identify products made in Maine. These bills will help support Maine businesses and Maine people.
As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact my office by phone or send me an email. It’s an honor to serve as your state senator.
Linda Sanborn is serving her first term in the Maine Senate, representing Senate District 30, which includes Gorham, part of Buxton, and part of Scarborough. She previously served four terms in the Maine House, and practiced family medicine in Gorham for 25 years. Senator Sanborn lives in Gorham with her husband, Jeff, a Gorham native. They have three adult sons and one granddaughter.
(207) 287-1515 | Linda.Sanborn@Legislature.Maine.gov