Art shops, music stores, restaurants, and so much more make up the wide variety of local businesses people go to. Long Beach includes a wide variety of small businesses such as Feline Good Social Club, the Art Theater, Bagatelle Records, and many more.
Whether you’re looking for new clothes, gifts, or even ingredients for your kitchen, supporting small businesses is a great way to support local vendors and artists, as well as limit harm to the environment.
However, pricier goods and “inconvenience” when compared to shopping at big corporations can make local businesses seem inaccessible. This makes it understandable that not everyone has the chance to exclusively shop locally.
When given the chance, even if it is only occasionally, you should support small businesses rather than big corporations.
Consumerism today is very centered on convenience and disposability. Prices are cheaper and shopping is easier, making products from fast fashion brands or companies like Amazon appealing. However, they aren’t good for the environment.
When looking for clothes, many small businesses provide a more sustainable alternative. Buying from vendors who choose and make their own products gets you longer-lasting goods. Buying things second-hand or from a thrift store keeps clothing from being sent to the landfill.
Local businesses also cater to all kinds of interests. Many shops sell things such as handmade goods, varieties of “knick-knacks,” and niche collectibles that you can’t find in corporations. They also often feature local artists, giving you an opportunity to support the arts.
Kaitlyn Lor, a QUEST senior, states, “Shopping small all around fosters connections within the community, helps the lives of independent business owners, and continues to drive creative spirit all while stimulating the local economy.”
These independent business owners and artists do have pricier goods that accommodate the material and time it takes to make their goods. This is why it is not always possible to make a complete switch to shopping small, but when given the chance, shopping local is a great opportunity to help the community.
“I enjoy spending time going to local fleas and farmers markets, and seeing all the creativity and hard work behind all of it,” says Lor. “To me, it’s really awesome to experience that level of human connection in comparison to shopping at a larger chain.”
Lor suggested supporting small businesses at markets such as the First Fridays at Bixby Knolls, the Beach Flea at PCH, the Marina Farmer’s Market, and the Collective Market at PCH. Lor is also hosting a small business feature event at Millikan on Mar. 22, 4:30 – 7:00 p.m., giving students a chance to support both local and student-run businesses.
Whether you’re out shopping for books or looking for good food, support local businesses and you will not regret it!
Samantha Pemari Macanlalay • Mar 20, 2024 at 12:22 pm
Richter provides insight on local small businesses in Long Beach. She also explains the importance of shopping locally. This article, although being an opinion based piece, is very informative. It teaches readers about the pros and cons as well as different perspectives on the issue. She does a good job reasoning as to why it may not be possible for everyone to exclusively shop locally. She not only explains what shopping locally is like but she also gives a definition on what consumerism is and general examples of it. It is also a good persuasive text that influences the audience to help the environment and take part in their own personal interests through the act of buying from local businesses. This article by Richter was very interesting as well due to her addition of an interview from a Quest student, Kaitlyn Lor, who has lots of experience as a person who shops locally. She also includes Lor’s suggestions and a community event at Millikan that allows them to take part in shopping locally. Overall, this article was a great read that is both informative and can lead to a better environmental impact in the world.
Aila Kubota • Mar 20, 2024 at 11:02 am
This is a very insightful and elaborate article that expresses the many importances and benefits of people taking the time to shop locally. Right from the beginning of the article, Richter includes the multitude of local businesses scattered throughout Long Beach to provide the reader with resources they can use if they want to shop locally. In addition, within the beginning of the article, Richter explains the advantage and convenience the environment and owners of these small businesses receive when a person shops locally due to the fact that it limits harm to the environment and brings support to businesses that are not always recognized. The flow of the article Richter provides is very easy to follow and understand. Richter flows the article with the benefits and reasons why a person should shop locally, directly into the understandable reason as to why a person might not always take this action due to the fact that the prices of goods are exceedingly higher and that some small businesses may seem inaccessible. As the article flows, towards the middle, Richter expresses the idea of consumerism and clarifies the reason as to why many people might turn towards fast fashion companies due to cheaper prices and easier shopping, but also includes how harmful these actions are to the environment. In contrast to the beginning, Richter flowed the article from the benefits of local shopping to the negative effects, but then towards the end the author shifts the flow and turns it to the negative effects, to the positive benefits of shopping locally. In the end, Richter includes an interview of a Millikan High School student to provide the reader with resources of small businesses markets they can go to better the environment.
Joana Terriquez • Mar 19, 2024 at 10:27 pm
March 19, 2024
Dear Corydon Editor,
On February 26, 2024, Allyson Richter wrote an article titles “Should You Shop Local”. This article helps influence readers to shop locally rather than shopping with high corporations. Allyson does a great job at explaining the advantages of shopping locally compared to big corporation and also draws the readers attention in a engaging way. The author also highlights the disadvantages of shopping with big corporations which would cause “fast fashion” and worsen the environment. Many individuals believe that its better to shop fast fashion so they can keep up with the trends or simply get them for cheaper, but when looking at it in the long run, its better to shop locally because youll get a higher quality artifact rather than a cheaply produced one, which Allyson does a great job in highlighting throughout her article. The author also uses engaging images which help the readers pay more attention and start connecting with the text and possibly starting to shop local.
Sincerely,
Joana Terriquez