The 'Look for Local' campaign was originally launched in 2021 by the Local Enterprise Offices asking consumers to look local and buy Irish as much as possible when they are shopping for products, services and experiences. The aim was to raise awareness of the benefit of spending in your local area.
It is estimated that every €10 spent locally on Irish products generates more than €40 of benefit to the local community in terms of employment*.
Since then there have been a number of campaigns including #ChampionGreen, the launch of the 'Shop Local' directory, and more generally a move away from the United States' import of 'Black Friday'. For many this might signal a week of bargains but the name has its origins with the Philadelphia police back in the 1950's, when it was used to describe the day after thanksgiving when shoppers and tourists flooded the streets ahead of an Army vs Navy football game. This created a nightmare for law-enforcement that was made worse by shoplifters who took advantage of the chaos and also took off with goods. Now Black Friday has become a global day of mass consumerism, with large multinationals benefiting the most. In the case of some larger stores, as we have seen from news reports in recent years, the chaos isn't much different, if not worse than that of the 1950's!.
'Green Friday' asks people to rethink their behaviours whilst promoting local goods and businesses over global enterprises. This not only helps the local economy but also helps with the environment – less transportation of goods from overseas and perhaps even less 'throwaway' goods being bought in haste.
Wherever possible Ardcarne Garden Centre uses local Irish suppliers including nurseries, artists and local producers of spa products and candles amongst others.
We encourage all our customers to 'look for local' when making purchases and in doing so support local communities and promote a sustainable Irish economy.
*ISME Shop Local Report 2020
