Think globally, shop locally
New Flagstaff business support program to spotlight FAN-tastic local businesses

By Robin Craig & Phyllis Thompson, Flagstaff Residents

"Think globally, shop locally." Hey, wait a minute! That's not how the bumper sticker reads, is it? No, it's not. But environmentalist Rene Dubos (the man credited with coining the original instruction to "Think globally, act locally") would probably agree that it's a good example of his principle. And there is a group in Flagstaff that aims to make local shopping easier.

It started in November 1999, when a few people came together to talk about what to do in addition to boycotting Barnes & Noble. It often seems easier to say what not to do (just look at the Ten Commandments). It is harder to figure out what we should be doing instead.

Robin Craig showed the group a map of locally owned bookstores and coffee shops that some activists are circulating in connection with the B&N boycott. "We made these maps of local alternatives available all over town, and people said they found the information very helpful," recalls Craig.

From this seed grew the idea of a much larger directory that would help everyone identify and patronize locally owned Flagstaff businesses.

Early conversations toward this end raised interesting questions. For example: What exactly is a local business? A coffee shop like Macy's is clearly local.  Macy's is a single shop operated by Flagstaff resident Tim Macy and staffed by local residents. But what about The Village Baker? Though The Village Baker is locally owned and operated, there exists a second Village Baker shop in Ashland, Ore. What about locally owned franchises like Davis True Value hardware that have served the Flagstaff community well for years?

After several conversations and quite a bit of research, the group drafted an "espresso" mission statement to summarize its overall goals in supporting local businesses:

To identify for residents and visitors local Flagstaff businesses which (1) serve the community, (2) support their employees, (3) honor their customers, and (4) promote environmental sustainability.

The next question was how to do this, and thus was born the nonprofit "FAN-tastic Local Business" project. The group has designed a process to nominate and select qualifying businesses, and (this was the fun part) has created an easy-to-identify "FAN-tastic Local Business" logo. The logo will be printed as a decal. The decals will be awarded once a year to between 50 and 100 Flagstaff businesses. The decal can be displayed by qualifying businesses in places easy for potential patrons to see. A list of all winners will also be publicized in newspapers, radio ads, on a FAN-tastic Local Business Web site, and in a printed directory.

Anyone can nominate a candidate for the FAN-tastic Local Business award. Nominated owners will then be approached to summarize their record in the four main areas of concern: community contributions, customer service, employee relations, and environmental sustainability.

An interesting aspect of this story is that during the group's deliberations, the Flagstaff Convention and Visitor's Bureau began a new tourism campaign using the slogan, "They don't make towns like this anymore." A key feature of this idea is that Flagstaff has qualities that make it unique and therefore attractive to visitors. Many of these unique qualities spring from the character and variety of Flagstaff's local businesses.

In addition, however, members of the FAN-tastic Local Business group stress that hometown businesses tend to be even more important to local residents than to visitors. It is locals who look for fresh foods every day or every week at the Flagstaff Farmers Market; it is locals who cycle and recycle their building materials through Eric Building Supply. Local businesses provide employment to people who are their neighbors and they tend to spend their profits in the local community. The future of local business owners is tied to the well-being of Flagstaff.

Which brings us back to the idea of "Think globally, shop locally." "Think globally" means that the future of Flagstaff citizens is tied to the future of the world. Today's Americans own more things than most people in the history of the world. All U.S. citizens can commit to being responsible consumers by buying only what they need, buying reused and recycled goods, being aware of where purchases come from, and looking at where goods end up.

Still, everyone needs to patronize merchants sometime, if only to buy the food we cannot grow or to repair a failing machine. When that time comes, the FAN-tastic Local Business project urges you to "Shop locally." And they hope by 2001 to create a system that will help you do that easily.

For more information or to volunteer, e-mail Robin at nepionic@yahoo.com or call Phyllis at 714-1034.

Robin Craig has been a Flagstaff resident for four years. She has been working as a bookkeeper for environmental groups and other local organizations, but is now pursuing work she wants to do, not just what she can do.

Phyllis Thompson is a writer and teacher who has lived in Flagstaff since 1998.