The Effect Of Purchasing Locally Made Furniture
“Support local” isn’t a new tagline, and most of us can appreciate how important it is to invest in our local communities, something that was especially highlighted in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. But sometimes we miss the link between sustainability, localization, and globalization. Sometimes we forget how we only gain when we purchase from our neighbours and contribute to their success.
LOCAL MEANS YOU INVEST IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Once we stop to think about it, it’s clear that purchasing products that come from across the world will have a lasting impact. Cities are an ecosystem with many moving parts, and purchasing something from somewhere else means investing in a different ecosystem.
A purchase of one locally made product—a table for example—supports more than just the table designer, manufacturer, and retailer. It also supports dozens of other local companies, including the lumber supplier, glue and finish producers, trucking companies, and even local couriers and movers. Investing in a local ecosystem feeds and grows its potential for generations to come.
LOCAL MEANS YOU CHOOSE SUSTAINABILITY
Life is so busy and complicated that we don’t realize how we’re contributing to "unsustainability" with globalization. While we can urge global companies to take responsibility and implement cleaner manufacturing practices, one of the most immediate things we can do to contribute to sustainability and a greener footprint is localization.
It may be difficult to ignore the siren call of fast shipping and cheap alternatives, but lasting change happens when we support the people who strive to make the products we need locally accessible.
LOCAL MEANS YOU BENEFIT FROM THE INTANGIBLE SIDE EFFECTS
As a manufacturer, it’s hard not to care when you see your clients face to face. Producing for a local market means we know the people who use our end product. We get to meet the children who will inherit our pieces. This one-on-one interaction infuses our design and manufacturing process with joy, empathy, accountability, and motivation to do better and to do more for our clients and neighbours.
We get to work with the people in our backyard to create something special for the people in our community. These relationships produce a host of benefits that may be harder to quantify but can be noted in the quality of our products.
Purchasing locally-made furniture is an investment that benefits not only your own family but the ecosystem in which it resides. It’s a contribution to the future of both your family and your community. As a side effect, you, the end-user, benefit from uncompromising quality.
