FAQs

Well, the first thing you can do is Take the Pledge and commit yourself to shifting more of your household spending local. Then visit our Checklist page that gives you advice on ways to make the Shift.

But here’s the big thing about the Shift – it is not intended to guilt you into anything or require anything from you. We’re not saying this is a ‘buy local’ project and that you should buy local at any cost to you, or that you’re letting down “the team” if you don’t.

What we’re saying is that you should THINK local first: I need X product – can I purchase it from a local producer or retailer? But if you can’t find a local deal that works for you, then by all means look at other options.

And it’s a two-way street: Under local first, you are saying to local businesses: We’ll come to you first but you have to make the effort to deliver customer satisfaction – we’re prepared to bring our hard-earned dollars to you, but if you don’t deliver we’ll go to our next option.

Often times, when people think about buying local, they will typically think of food, particularly agrifood. And that can be a good starting point because there are usually many local producers and farm markets in BC communities.

But strong communities and local entrepreneurship and economic development can only really be achieved through diversified spending… merchandise along with food.

The best way to start is to look at our Local First Finds page (available to you once you take the pledge). You can browse for items by town, by category or both.

Great question. There are three guidelines for the Ten Percent Shift (in order of priority):

1. Is the retail business a Local Independent?
2. Is the product manufactured or grown locally?
3. Are the materials used to manufacture the product sourced locally?

Ideally, it’s yes to all three but at least one of them must apply. And the only way to find out about each of these is to do some research and ask some questions of local vendors.

It’s important to remember that we’re talking about a ten percent shift of your budget, not your household or discretionary spending. The good news is that brings a lot of big-ticket items into play that can shift even more than ten percent (see our Checklist for a starting point on those items). So things like switching your mortgage from a national bank to the community credit union can have a big impact on your family’s shift.

It’s also important to remember that in addition to buying from a local business or service, shifting can still involve the purchase of products from national chains. For example, if you look for locally made products in Safeway or other chains, you’re still making the shift!

Here’s the big thing you have to remember about the Ten Percent Shift – there is no cap, no limit.

We’re not saying, get to ten percent and then stop – we’re saying hit your goal, and then set another one. Because once you do, a multiplier effect really starts to take over.

For example, spending 10% of your budget locally means that every $100 you spend has a value of $70 in your community (that’s about how much of it stays there). But when you get up to spending 50% locally, that $100 now provides $200 worth of community value because so much more money is cycling through your community.