CONSUME WITH A CONSCIENCE >>>

Cities all over the nation are supporting American Express' "Small Business Saturday" campaign, which encourages shoppers to consider supporting their local retailers this weekend, particularly the Saturday after Black Friday.  According to Civic Economics, out of every $100 spent on a small business, $68 returns to the community. Nationally, the Small Business Saturday website reports small businesses employ half of all private sector employees. Additionally, the Small Business Administration says, "for every year over the last decade, 60-80% of new jobs were generated by small businesses."

Tacoma and Olympia are ripe with locally owned boutiques, furniture and electronic stores and more.  I encourage you to take a look at your Best Buy, Gap or Target list and consider if those same items could be purchased from a local retailer.