Not so long ago, nearly all our shops were independently-owned. Although the big supermarkets are mostly all over 100 years old, they did not have the world-domination as they do today. And as well as dodgy ethics and raising prices of affordable foods (Jack Monroe recently calculated that supermarkets have raised the price of apples far more than champagne), many are also only accessible by car). It’s not good to demonise supermarkets, as many do indeed offer more affordable food than swanky farm shops, and some are making the effort to change things in small ways. But usually not far and fast enough.
If you run an independent shop, read up on which plants, seeds & flowers are toxic to pets (also important if you sell popular plantable cards). This way you can avoid harm, and also educate your customers.
Also in a country of 60 million people with an ageing population, it’s likely never going to be the case again that you pop to the village baker, deli, greengrocer and indie health store (most of which now tend to sell pills over food). But it’s good to support indie shops when you find them, even if it’s only for a weekly loaf of bread or a basket of fresh organic vegetables. Or even buying a handmade bar of soap or handcrafted gift card. Every little helps!
Small indie shops are not just nice for communities to avoid ‘clone towns’ (where all towns look and feel the same), but they tend to have staff who are treated better and paid more. And importantly, small indie shops stick around when things get tough. You can usually take dogs inside, ‘borrow a bag’, put a few groceries on a tab for older children to collect and often small shops will also order in goods that you request, rather than you have to write an ignored letter to Head Office, if you really want that artisan vegan cheese brand in store.
The main reason to support independent shops is that you usually can get there by foot or bicycle. Many indie shops are in old buildings so can’t adapt for wheelchairs etc. So it pays to have a sign (or website) saying you can deliver locally for free. Supporting indie shops also means you get to keep money within your community. A small shop owner may well bank with a local credit union, likely employs local people, has no shareholders, employs a local signwriter, and likely also eats his lunch at the local pub!
unique ideas to help save our independent shops
Read Good Morning, Beautiful Business. This is the wonderful story of a woman in Philadelphia who set up a local cafe to help save her row of Victorian brownhouses. And accidentally created a nationwide organic food movement. Another good US book is Specialty Shop Retailing by a successful gift shop owner. The Americans do customer service much better than us, and this book covers shop design, pricing, employing staff, preventing theft, accessibility and tips on setting up an online shop for more income.
Another good idea from the US is Maine’s Sunrise Guide. This is a coupon book packed with ideas on green living, with money-off coupons for local indie shops & services. They amount to thousands of dollars of discounts, so this yearly book sells itself (and local schools can buy them on sale & return, and keep up to 50% of profits).
We don’t really have anything similar like this in England, although the website Indie Cambridge (in the most cloned city in England) lists all members online, and profiles members in its magazine – they get a professional photo shoot and invites to pop-up get-together events. Ideas like this can go beyond a simple profile, linking to special offers (a local veggie restaurant could offer discounts on Valentine’s Day) or a natural toy store could invite a local juggler to entertain children etc). Could you imagine if local councils had a ‘limelight merchant’ to focus on indie shops, how much more money this would bring into the local economy of each town?
support your local indie zero waste shops
A new ‘breed of independent shops’ proving popular are zero waste shops. Mostly kitted out in neutral decor, most towns now have one, where you can stock up on bulk foods (a bit like the old scoop shops) using a tare weight system (bring your own clean container and then you only pay for the food, not packaging). Two of England’s most successful zero waste independent shops are Devon’s Earth. Food. Love (founded by a former Manchester City footballer) and Birmingham’s The Clean Kilo (this features chilled plant milk dispensers, machines to make your own orange juice and peanut butter and promotes the reusable takeaway Brummie Cup (borrow for a £2 refundable deposit). Even the crisps arrive in packaging-free containers from nearby Staffordshire.
Nearly all zero waste shops also sell reusable basics like toothbrushes, drinks bottles and coffee cups. Some like Bristol’s Zero Green even serves coffee in edible cups (apparently they taste like a thick ice-cream cone!) Some zero waste shops operate from mobile vans like Cornwall’s Incredible Bulk that delivers to several villages, so people in rural areas don’t go short.
start a local currency (to help indie shops)
Local currencies have not taken off in England like abroad, but they’re a good idea to support independent shops (and still thriving in Lewes and Brixton). They kind of work like gift vouchers – beautiful printed notes that you can only use in indie shops, then you get your change in pounds sterling. They are also popular for people who prefer to use cash, but prefer to avoid sterling bank notes (due to being made with plastic & animal fats). Local currencies don’t affect inflation (for every pound put into the community, a sterling pound is taken out). And we also need to move away from obsession with inflation and economic growth anyway, putting ‘people before profits’ instead.
