The 3/50 Project

We were introduced to the 3/50 Project by RubyDog's Art House, an independent Vancouver art supply store that tries to be minimize their environmental impact and supports altered arts that often use unwanted books, board games, and other re-purposed materials. Like Green Earth Organics, RubyDog's is a locally-owned business that keeps money in Vancouver and area.

The idea behind the 3/50 Project is simple: encourage people to support local businesses. The challenge is to choose three local businesses that you would miss if they were gone, then commit to spending $50 a month total between the three businesses. The idea is not to buy things you don't need, but re-direct some of the money you are already spending: choosing a book from an independent instead of from a website, eating at a small restaurant instead of a chain, or finding an alternative to the big American health food chain store.

According to the 3/50 Project, for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If that same $100 is spent in a national chain, only $43 stays in your community. If that $100 is spent online (on a conventional big website), none of the money returns to your community. Of course, the latter doesn’t apply to websites that are entirely locally owned and operated and have brick-and-mortar components, such as Green Earth Organics, which is much more like an independent bookstore than like Amazon.