Buy Local Pasadena Blog

About Us

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WHO WE ARE

A small group of community members and business owners, BUY LOCAL PASADENA (Altadena – Sierra Madre) formed to offer strength and support to our local, independent business establishments. Our movement is a response to what we feel is an increasing lack of independent locally-owned establishments in the Pasadena area. Many of us who were born and raised here have witnessed the city reach a successful apex in development which has subsequently handicapped or even driven out some of the local character particularly in the downtown areas. Our goal is to strengthen the local business sector by creating a public awareness campaign around the benefits of doing business with local indys. We also seek to encourage other local living practices such as frequenting our local farmer’s markets and utilizing local transportation to promote environmental sustainability.

BUY LOCAL PASADENA aims to

• lend support to our locally owned, independent establishments
• encourage new locally owned independent entrepreneurs to succeed
• maintain our unique community character
• build community strength and encourage local sustainability
• demonstrate that the tax revenue and local dollars generated by supporting local businesses can be just as powerful as revenue generated by national and global chains

THE NATIONAL BUY LOCAL MOVEMENT

PASADENA BUY LOCAL was inspired by other communities throughout the country who have done the same thing to encourage local sustainability. Do these campaigns make a difference? Yes. Both surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that these campaigns are having a significant impact around the country. Success stories abound from….

Austin, Texas: The AUSTIN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ALLIANCE
www.ibuyaustin.com
Founded in 2002, AIBA has grown to nearly 400 locally owned businesses. According to the ISLR, Austin’s buy local campaign – broadly visible in advertisements and on posters, banners, storefront decals, and other items that remind people of the value of independent business and urge them to “break the chain habit” – has changed the shopping behavior of many residents and influenced the decisions of city officials and even developers. With residents increasingly clamoring for local businesses, developers have partnered with AIBA to develop strategies to include more local entrepreneurs in their projects.

Bellingham, Washington: SUSTAINABLE CONNECTIONS
www.sconnect.org
The coalition of more than 500 locally owned businesses in Bellinhgham, WA, launched a campaign to encourage people to “Think Local First” in 2003. By 2006 the campaign had triggered significant changes in local shopping behavior, according to a survey conducted by Applied Research Northwest. The survey of 300 people found that 69% were familiar with their slogan Think Local First and 58% were making a more deliberate effort to patronize locally owned businesses than they did before the campaign.

Portland, Maine: PORTLAND INDEPENDENT BUSINESS & COMMUNITY ALLIANCE
www.portlandbuylocal.org
Just six months after launching a buy local campaign in Portland, ME, PIBCA surveyed its members and found that nearly two-thirds reported that the campaign had already had a positive impact on their businesses, generating increased sales and greater customer appreciation. So strong was the initial public response to the campaign that it was voted “Best Local Cause” in a poll conducted by a local newspaper.

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