Local purchasing

Local purchasing is a preference to buy locally produced goods and services rather than those produced farther away. It is very often abbreviated as a positive goal, "buy local" or "buy locally', that parallels the phrase "<a href="/facts/Think_globally%2c_act_locally/kT7s7Xzs">think globally, act locally</a>", common in <a href="/facts/Green_politics/3uzob1pB">green politics</a>.
On the national level, the equivalent of local purchasing is <a href="/facts/Import_substitution/CdmP75Kb">import substitution</a>, the deliberate <a href="/facts/Industrial_policy/hdbgjbaU">industrial policy</a> or <a href="/facts/Agricultural_policy/zEzduKa0">agricultural policy</a> of replacing goods or services produced on the far side of a national border with those produced on the near side, i.e., in the same country or <a href="/facts/Trade_bloc/8gVxDTJK">trade bloc</a>.
Before <a href="/facts/Industrialization/h3QXzS6C">industrialization</a> and <a href="/facts/Globalization/0locjSHH">globalization</a> became widespread, there were so many incentives to buy locally that no one had to make any kind of point to do so, but with current <a href="/facts/Market_(economics)/6RfCU3fH"> market</a> conditions, it is often cheaper to buy distantly-produced goods, despite any added costs in terms of <a href="/facts/Packaging/QGRXJLjq">packaging</a>, <a href="/facts/Transport/npstdhvc">transport</a>, <a href="/facts/Inspection/VIHSpFXp">inspection</a>, <a href="/facts/Wholesale/WcqQwls0">wholesale</a>/<a href="/facts/Retail/unzV9sPF">retail</a> facilities, etc. As such, one must now often take explicit action if one wants to purchase locally produced goods.
These market conditions are based on <a href="/facts/Externalized_costs/x1S9PI2o">externalized costs</a>, argue local-economy advocates. Examples of externalized costs include the price of <a href="/facts/War/MPluTbJ0">war</a>, <a href="/facts/Asthma/7GkJvxn3">asthma</a>, or <a href="/facts/Climate_change/rEN4BDE7">climate change</a>, which are not typically included in the cost of (for example) a gallon of fuel. Most advocates for local economics address <a href="/facts/Contracting/SkqyGj6S">contracting</a> and <a href="/facts/Investment/VrMookcv">investment</a>, as well as purchasing.
Agricultural alternatives are being sought,[by whom?] and have manifested themselves in the form of <a href="/facts/Farmers%2527_market/5B1RbPwd">farmers' markets</a>, farmed goods sold through the community <a href="/facts/Cooperatives/kQFtXWzt">cooperatives</a>, <a href="/facts/Urban_agriculture/zUog67oP">urban gardens</a>, and even school programs that endorse <a href="/facts/Community_agriculture/7cq4GxkM">community agriculture</a>.

Local purchasing open-in-new

Local purchasing