May 22, 2014

Buying from Local Stores Makes Sense and CentsBy Richard RossNewburyportNew.com

Newburyport, MA – Last weekend I was working in our yard doing the usual spring clean up stuff. My efforts reflected a harbinger of the good things that will arrive around our home in the next month or so and I enjoyed the work. I realized I needed to get a shovel and some potting soil, so I decided to go to the Lowes Garden Center in Seabrook.

As I walked into my house to get my wallet and car keys, it occurred to me that instead of going to that ubiquitous retail giant, I should first see if the local garden center had what I needed. Why not support our neighborhood businesses and keep the money here? And that got me thinking about the whole shop local/sustainability movement. I decided this would be a good subject for my next column. When I saw my wife as I was preparing to leave the house, I shared this idea with her. She looked at me somewhat disdainfully and said:

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