Local Businesses Committed to Sustainability: Putting Buffalo First!
Locavores and sustainable shoppers might not pin Buffalo, New York as their first destination for clothing, food, and entertainment. They might first point to Burlington, Seattle, San Francisco or Portland, areas known for their local flavor and dedication to renewable energy. But, with the organizational efforts of Buffalo First and the drive of Buffalo’s local entrepreneurs, the city may soon be competing for a place at the top in local innovation, economic progressivism, and sustainable living.
Have you noticed the blue and green “BUY LOCAL” signs on Buffalo’s shop windows, doors, and notice boards? Those are the signals to shoppers and visitors that the business is part of a strong network of Buffalo businesses committed to the local economy -- and that by shopping there instead of a national chain, consumers will have three times the economic impact on their community. Money spent at that business will circulate and enrich the community, as the business owner and more of the business’s suppliers and services are also members of the community.
When people see the Buffalo First insignia on a shop or a restaurant or a service provider, it is a reminder that our businesses are a part of our community as well, and are key to our neighborhoods’ livelihood. The Buffalo First logo is a road map away from thoughtless consumerism to thoughtful participation in our community’s economic health.
A full list of Buffalo First-approved local and independent businesses, updated daily, can be found in our online directory: www.buffalofirst.org/directory.
Over the past year, Buffalo First has organized its members around what matters to them:
business workshops and mixers to foster local sourcing and to enrich the options and tools available to independent business owners
an online directory and consumer incentive programs to shop at local and independent retailers
active campaigns to shop local on Black Friday and throughout the holiday season
rallies and staunch advocacy for an emphasis on local business at Canal Side
a push to enact legislation to recognize Benefit Corporations in New York State
Buffalo First-approved local businesses are the sole recipients of the internet-fueled “BuffCashMob,” which has sparked a national trend of mobbing local businesses with a flash mob of hungry customers.
Buffalo First is part of a national network of like-minded organizations that recognize and actively promote the idea of local economies as the key to our communities’ health. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) provides Buffalo First, its advocacy movement and its members with ample resources from across the country to strengthen the cause of localism. Local businesses, it has been shown, tend to treat the environment much better than national chains. Local business owners live and work in our community, and are active stakeholders in our neighborhoods’ well being. They also provide the unique cultural fabric that makes Buffalo a place we love to call home.
Already Buffalo First has a packed April schedule, chock full of events including:
Service Day celebrating the passage of Benefit Corporation legislation on April 13.
Sustainable Business Fair in conjunction with GrowWNY’s Earth Week Happy Hour on April 17.
Triple Bottom Line Business Mixer in partnership with the Clean Air Coalition of WNY, to promote local and sustainable business in Tonawanda on April 10.
For more information on all these events can be found on our website at www.buffalofirst.org/events.
Join us! Buffalo First is not interested in a Buffalo that is tourist-exclusive or too expensive to enjoy. We work to maximize the benefits of Buffalo’s diversity, both economically and socially, and focus our passions on the potential for authentic, sustainable growth in Western New York, comprised of locally owned and operated retailers, sustainable and environmentally-friendly business, and a stronger, more self-determined economy throughout the region. Join the movement today at www.buffalofirst.org.
In this next article in the Earth Week series, Andrew Delmonte of Buffalo First writes about making Buffalo a destination for local innovation, economic progressivism, and sustainable living by buying local.
Sustainable shoppers might not pin Buffalo as their first destination for clothing, food, and entertainment. They might first point to Burlington, Seattle, San Francisco or Portland, areas known for their local flavor and dedication to renewable energy. But, with the organizational efforts of Buffalo First and the drive of Buffalo’s local entrepreneurs, the city may soon be competing for a place at the top in local innovation, economic progressivism, and sustainable living.
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by Gladys Gifford, Citizens for Regional Transit
on April 09, 2012
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What's New )
OPINION / COMMENTARY
Photo Credit: Ryan McValy on Getty Images
Are you concerned about access to work and schools for your children and grandchildren? Are you worried about getting around when you become too old to drive? Are you ready to trade in the long commute for a pleasant hassle-free ride to work?
If you said yes to any of those questions, then you are ready for alternatives to driving alone.
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Elusive medium-sized wild cats such as the Siberian lynx, Canada lynx, ocelot, caracal, bobcat, and serval, along with over 70 other wild animals, currently reside at Hawk Creek Wildlife Center - a local nonprofit organization celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and its new accreditation.
