November 14, 2008 - The organization Think Boise First has just posted a video on YouTube promoting the goals and benefits of buying local goods and services. Think Boise First is a membership network of local, community-minded individuals and businesses commited to strengthening Boise, Idaho by supporting the benefits of buying local first.

The video is available for viewing here.

"Think Local First" campaigns are a tool of the national Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, or BALLE, of which Think Boise First is a member.

According to BALLE, "a Local First campaign educates consumers about the economic and social advantages that independent and local businesses bring to a community. Rather than simply promoting 'buying' local, we are suggesting our larger role as stewards. By thinking local, we can make choices that have dramatic impact on our local communities, economies, and environments."

Furthermore, BALLE notes that "we will rarely be able to buy everything we need or use from local independent businesses. But we are advocating that people first think local - look first for local and locally owned sources of the things they need and want - to maximize the impact of their daily actions and purchasing decisions."

For more information on Local First campaigns -- including BALLE's definition of "local" and an overview of recent studies of who benefits from such efforts -- you can visit BALLE's Local First website.

Local First campaigns have also been discussed on Small-Mart.org by Michael Shuman and guest commentator Patty Cantrell. You can read these blog commentaries here and here.