Does “Local” Mean Ethical? The U.S. “Buy Local” Movement and CSR in SMEs

Abstract

“Buy Local” campaigns argue that consumers who patronize local firms instead of national chains reap broad economic, social, and ecological benefits for their home communities. These campaigns, which seek to create social change through market forces, imply that “local” means ethical. What ethical claims do localism advocates make for the benefits of local consumption, and how do they verify those claims? And how does the buy-local case inform broader debates on ethical markets? We find that U.S. buy-local organizations routinely focused on marketing concerns and failed to police members’ socially responsible bona fides. We also find that prolocal organizations promoted community cohesion and served an important role in disseminating sustainability information through new networks. We suggest that small- and medium-sized enterprises, which face particular challenges in authenticating claims for their economic and ecological impact, should consider restricting claims to their more specific and more easily verified social impact.