Decision To Buy: What Do We Base It On to Become More Conscientious Shoppers?

There are three movements in the attempt to do business and buy more conscientiously. Some of these terms and initiatives are often used interchangeably or have various elements in common.

Preliminary Discussion Questions:

• What do each of the terms mean to you?
• How do you make your buying decisions now?

Here are some resources that address the causes of each:

Locally-Owned Business

(Decision to Buy Based on a Business' Location / Proximity)

• Wikipedia: Local Purchasing
• Trade Local: "Why Should You Support Local Business?
• Business Alliance for Local Living Economies: Local First, Why Local First, and Studies Supporting Local First
• StayLocal (New Orleans): Ten Reasons to Shop Local & Reports & Studies on Local Shopping
• Sustainable Connections: Top Ten Reasons to Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local
• Book: The Small Mart Revolution: How local businesses are beating the global competition, by Michael Shuman
• Book: The Case Against the Global Economy -- and For a Turn Toward the Local, edited by Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith

Independently Owned Businesses

(Decision to Buy Based on a Business' Leadership Type, Legal Structure, Dependance on other Entities)

• Wikipedia: Independent Business
• American Independent Business Alliance: Andersonville Study of Retail Economics
• Book: The Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses by Stacey Mitchell
• U.S. Department of Labor: Meaning of Independently Owned.
• Auto Inc: Body Shops: Independently Owned Dependently Operated" by Ben McNamara
  
  

Small Businesses

(Decision to Buy Based on a Business' Size: Number of Employees or Amount of Annual Receipts)

• Wikipedia: Small Business
• Small Business Administration (SBA): What is Small Business
• Book: The Small Mart Revolution: How local businesses are beating the global competition," by Michael Shuman
• Book: Globalization of Small Economies as a Strategic Behavior in International Business, by Sergio Castello
• Book: Better, Not Bigger, by Eben Fodor
  
  

Responsible/Sustainable Business / Socially Responsible Corporation

(Decision to Buy Based on a Business' Values and Actions)

• Wikipedia: Sustainable Business
• Wikipedia: Social Responsibility (Human and Environmental)
• Eco-Wise: Why Buy Green?
• CNN: Buying Green: The rise of organic foods, recycled products and eco-friendly ingredients have helped a generation of consumers “go green.'
• Business for Social Responsibility (BSR): The Socially Responsible Board" (PDF) by Aron Cramer & Matthew Hirschland, Ph.D.
• Economic Footprint: Business & Economic Development" (PDF) : The impact of corporate responsibility standards and practices, by AccountAbility & Business for Social Responsibility (BSR).
• British Nuclear Group: Why be a Responsible Business? (PDF) : by Dave Till
  

More Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think the terms have become interchgangable?
• Which term(s) do you feel your business is most closely associated with?

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