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Our July newsletter is online here.

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On the Wednesday before July 4th, Portland Buy Local spent the morning at the Farmers Market celebrating Maine's local farmers, independent businesses, and the release of our new Find Your Independents guide.

This year's celebration also marked Portland Buy Local's 4th birthday.

Hundreds of people, many wearing Portland Buy Local t-shirts, stopped by to pick up a copy of the new guide and enjoy a slice of cake.

Thank you to all of those who joined us in celebrating, and to the local entrepreneurs and farmers who keep Maine such a great, independent state!

Our new t-shirts and totes, featuring a design by Maine's own Amy Teh (pinecone+chickadee), are on sale now.

The t-shirts, which are black, are made in the USA and screen-printed locally. The totes, also in black, are handcrafted right here in Portland!

The totes are available at Portmanteau, Coffee By Design, Fetch, Happy Yogi, and Maine Potters Market. The t-shirts are on sale at Coffee By Design, Fetch, and Nomads.

Earlier this year, we joined with local business alliances across New England to launch the 10% Shift, an initiative that encourages individuals, businesses, and organizations to shift 10% of their current spending from chains to locally owned, independent businesses.

So far, the response has been great. People love this idea and are finding lots of easy and rewarding ways to make the shift. One person told us that he had moved his checking account to a local bank. Another said she'd decided to spend more of her entertainment budget going to local performances and supporting local musicians and artists. We'd love to hear how your household or business is making the 10% Shift.

This relatively small change in spending patterns can produce a big benefit for the region's economy. If everyone in Greater Portland made the 10% shift, it would generate $50 million annually in new economic activity for the region and create 600 new jobs. (These figures are derived from studies in other cities and adjusted to reflect Portland's size and spending patterns.)

How is it that shifting just 10% of our spending can have such a big impact? One reason is that locally owned businesses buy more goods and services, like printing and accounting, from other local businesses. Studies show that local businesses spend a much large share of their revenue (two to three times as much on average) in the local area as national chains and online retailers do. More money circulating in the local economy means more jobs.