Festive gifts - keep it local

Nov 27 2007 by Sarah Judd, Evening Gazette

SHOPPERS are being urged to make it a green Christmas by purchasing food and gifts from independent high street stores this year.

With fairy lights already dazzling most busy town centres, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Friends of the Earth have joined forces to urge those looking for a festive bargain to avoid out-of-town shopping centres and hit their local high street instead.

The UK has 250,000 independent shops accounting for 11% of all UK businesses.

According to the FSB, avoiding the out-of-town shopping centres saves on carbon emissions generated from longer car journeys and will also allow shoppers to enjoy better personal service and wider choice.

Colin Stratton, FSB North-east regional chairman, said: “The decline of our high streets in recent years has been all too obvious.

“That’s why it’s so important to support our independent shops if we want to ensure that they are still there next Christmas.

“By shopping locally we can also do our bit to cut carbon emissions, so that, even if we don’t have a white Christmas, there’s no reason why we can’t enjoy a green one.”

As well as cutting car journeys, lots of small shops help the environment by stocking local produce and using less packaging than the big supermarkets.

Supporting them is a simple way to help make our local communities more sustainable, according to Richard Hines, Real Food campaigner at Friends of the Earth.

He said: “The big supermarkets are squeezing independent retailers out of business all year round so it’s vital that we support local shops this Christmas.

“If we shop local first we can help our high streets to thrive, as well as benefiting the environment.”