Back in July we were musing about retail. Small retail. Independent retail. We’re gearing up for the holidays and it’s the perfect time to reach out to our re-souL community to remind you how important it is to support small businesses.

Back in 2010, American Express founded Small Business Saturday to help businesses with their most pressing need — getting more customers. The day encourages people to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The single day has grown into a powerful movement, and more people are taking part than ever before. This year, the big day is Nov 29. Here are the top 4 reasons you should shop small.

Independent businesses make purchases requiring less transportation and are usually located in commercial corridors and in-town instead of developing on the fringe. This means less sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

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When you shop local, three times the revenue remains in your community, supporting parks, schools and more! For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the community and our tax base. For every $100 spent at a chain store, only $14 comes back.

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Independent businesses are the largest contributors to LOCAL charities. Non-profit organizations receive an average of 250% more support from local business owners than they do from non-locally owned businesses.