Editing Local purchasing (section)

==Rationale for local purchasing==
[[Image:Rechtstreex van de boer sign, Hillegersberg, Rotterdam (2022) 02.jpg|thumb|left|A sign in the Netherlands indicating that people can buy locally grown products here]]
Advocates often suggest local purchasing as a form of [[moral purchasing]]. Local purchasing is often claimed to be better for the [[Natural environment|environment]] and better for [[working conditions]]. Others contend (with empirical evidence) that local purchasing and contracting enhances local job creation and wealth while strengthening community cohesiveness.<ref name="The Benefits of Doing Business Locally">[http://www.amiba.net/home/benefits-local-business "The Benefits of Doing Business Locally"] by Jeff Milchen</ref>

The first potential moral benefit is environmental: Bringing goods from afar generally requires [[energy consumption|using more energy]] than transporting goods locally, and some environmental advocates see this as a serious environmental threat. Transportation contributes to environmental contamination in addition to the pollution caused by chemical inputs in the growing phase. Of course, locally produced goods are not always more [[efficient energy use|energy-efficient]]; local [[agriculture]] or [[manufacturing]] may rely on heavy inputs (e.g., [[industrial agriculture]]) or energy-inefficient machinery and/or transportation systems. However, small-scale growers tend to be more environmentally friendly because industrial-sized agriculture uses [[genetically modified crop]]s, monoculture production, and [[chemical fertilizer]]-intensive processes to grow crops—practices that local farmers typically avoid.<ref name="Society 2010">''Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction'' (Critical Introductions to Geography) by Paul Robbins, John Hintz, and Sarah A. Moore, 2010.</ref>

The second potential benefit is creating better working conditions. Nonetheless, while diverting purchasing from developing countries to local farmers helps build the local economy, it can lead to worse conditions for poor farmers in developing countries because it removes potential buyers from the market.

For communities, spending at local independent businesses also generates more jobs and wealth in the local economy compared to spending at absentee-owned businesses, including corporate chains.<ref name="localmultiplier">{{cite web|url=https://www.amiba.net/resources/multiplier-effect|title=The Multiplier Effect of Local Independent Businesses - AMIBA|publisher=}}</ref>

The goal of localisation is to reduce unnecessary transport, support entrepreneurism and to strengthen and diversify community economies.<ref>Bringing the Food Economy Home: Local Alternatives to Global Agribusiness, by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Todd Merrifield, and Steven Gorelick, 2002, p. 113</ref> This calls for condensation of agriculture and supports the idea that local farmers are capable of sustaining a community.

The term “Buy Local” has become subject to varying interpretations. While leading advocates of local independent business such as the [[American Independent Business Alliance]] say the term should apply only to locally owned independent businesses, some campaigns run by governments and [[chamber of commerce|chambers of commerce]] consider "local" to be merely a geographic consideration.<ref name="amiba">[http://www.amiba.net/about_ibas "What is a Local Independent Business] by American Independent Business Alliance</ref> Additionally, many corporations have manipulated the term in ways critics call "local-washing".<ref>Mitchell, S., [https://indyweek.com/news/dirty-tricks-behind-local-washing/ The dirty tricks behind local-washing], Indy Week, published 7 August 2009, accessed 6 June 2023</ref>