Unchaining America One Community at a Time

On Saturday, November 18, over 60 communities around the country celebrated America Unchained, the third annual event sponsored by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA). America Unchained urges communities to "unchain themselves" and to shop at local independent businesses for the day as a way to educate consumers about the economic value of locally owned businesses.

"In the three years we've conducted America Unchained nationally, since its inception with the Austin Independent Business Alliance, we've seen increasing national interest in the form of kindred campaigns of other organizations and the message spreading from the grassroots," said AMIBA director Jennifer Rockne. "We certainly do our best to make this a national story, and, this year, we had an interview run on [American Public Media's public radio show] Marketplace the day before Unchained. We usually see increasing media interest at the regional level, with the strongest interest locally."

This was the second year that the Durango business community actively participated in the America Unchained event, said Peter Schertz of Maria's Bookshop in Durango. This year, event organizers commissioned an economic study from the Fort Lewis College Business School to show the economic impact of shopping exclusively at locally owned businesses in Durango. The study showed that "nearly [an additional] half-million dollars stays in the local economy if everyone shops locally for that one day," Schertz said.

For the Durango event, each participating store held a drawing as a way to bring in customers. "We had a good group of business owners willing to put it together," Schertz said. Some 115 businesses "of all types" were involved. "We put posters up all over the place and each store was provided a packet with posters, bumper stickers, and ... drawing boxes with raffle tickets."

The Unchained event received coverage in The Durango Herald and Durango Telegraph. "A lot of people were aware of the event," Schertz said, "and a lot of people entered the drawing in the store." Noting that Saturday was a very busy day for Maria's, he added, "I think [the event] is beneficial."

Durango's America Unchained event culminated with a showing of the film Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop at a local independent theater on Sunday evening. However, while last year's film event was packed, the attendance for this year's event was dampened slightly, possibly due to the pivotal Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers football game, Schertz said. But a lower-than-expected turnout was not enough to spoil what was, overall, a successful event.

Noted Schertz, "Our event was a celebration of locally owned businesses. We emphasized the positive contribution."

In Mason, Michigan, the members of the Mason Independent Merchants Association held classes at each of their stores as part of the town's November 18 Unchained event. At Bestsellers Bookstore and Coffee Company, manager Jared Browers taught a class on how to make espresso and its origins.

Of course, considering the theme of the day, it's no surprise that part of Browers' class discussed how, when consumers patronize a chain like Starbuck's, "they are not getting the same value [as when they go to a local coffee house]," he told BTW. "I talked about [the value of shopping locally] as part of the class -- every day we're talking about it, in fact!" Bestsellers Bookstore placed AMIBA's Unchained posters around the store, as well.

The day's event garnered good publicity and was covered on a local radio show and a number of local newspapers, Browers reported.

For Margaret Osondu of Osondu Booksellers in Waynesville, North Carolina, America Unchained was not so much about increasing business as it was about raising awareness. There was a story in the local paper prior to the event, and the store displayed AMIBA posters around the store and handed them out. "We also stuffed bags with them the week before the event," Osondu said.

That Saturday, many who came into the store were "loyal customers who believe in supporting local merchants," but Osondu noted how one customer admitted to having no idea that local businesses contributed more to the economy than do chains. "They said ... they hadn't thought it out, so that was one person converted that we know of!"

Of course, the key to America Unchained is raising awareness. AMIBA's Rockne noted, "The number of newspaper editorials increase with each year. These are staff-written pieces, not guest-written opinions.... Dialogue is raised, and people have the opportunity to do some conscious thinking about their habits and choices."

Rockne also pointed out that the timing of the release of Stacy Mitchell's new book, The Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, was rather fortuitous. "Stacy's November book tour schedule coincided with many local Unchained events," she said. "Having such resources as a catalyst only lends credence to local events. I advise any bookseller or local alliance bringing her in for a talk to invite your city council members and economic development folks, as well as the media to your event. This isn't just a book, it's a vital community lesson." -David Grogan

A key focus of the America Unchained event were the findings of Civic Economics' Andersonville Study and "Economic Impact Analysis -- A Case Study: Local Merchants vs. Chain Retailers." Links to these, and other information to educate consumers about the value of locally owned businesses, are available on BookWeb.org.