Shoppers urged to support Australian small businesses through Buy From The Bush
Buying handmade Australian products is so important during the pandemic. These women explain why it’s vital to helping their small businesses survive.
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Buying from Australian businesses is the key to helping many smaller operators survive the pandemic.
Instead of rushing to buy goods from overseas stores and websites, small business owners are urging people to think about buying down under first.
Buy From The Bush spokeswoman Georgie Robertson says shoppers should look to the regions when spending up on goods including food, wine, clothing or art.
“There’s everything from beautiful handmade knives through home grown produce, handmade jewellery, Australian-made fashion and artwork,” she says.
“Just remember some of the products you are buying are handmade and there’s love and time put into them.”
The popular site features hundreds of businesses from all over Australia selling a range of items.
Artist Lottie McCutcheon, from Trangie, 485km northwest of Sydney, sells her own artwork and says all materials used are Australian made. But she urges shoppers when ordering online from smaller operators to be patient.
“It’s 100 per cent original art and it takes time to produce and then works get framed locally,” she says.
“Be aware you’re getting something everyone has used their hands to make.”
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia chief executive Peter Strong says doing simple online searches such as “buy local” can help shoppers find small businesses.
“And when looking at prices make sure you are comparing items to other sites and make sure you factor in postage costs,” he says.
Sarah Stamm runs her business, Salisbury and Maude, from her farm near Beechworth in northwest Victoria.
“I handmade all my own things seasonally such as Christmas wreathes, botanical art, quilts, knitwear and children’s toys,” she says.
“We are ordinary people like everybody else just trying to have a go, we’ve got families, mortgages and rates bills.”
Peter Strong, CEO of the Council of Small Business Australia has spoken of the need for consumers to think local and Aussie made when considering purchases.
“We need community, full of small businesses and medium businesses, to be empowered to forge a way forward,” he said.
Small business owners urge shoppers to allow plenty of time for delivery, particularly from remote locations for their goods to arrive.
Singing Magpie Produce owner Sue Heward started her business in 2017 using produce from her family’s 99-year-old orchard located at Monash in South Australia’s Riverland.
“We use our fruit, sun dry it, hand pick it and gift pack it,” she says. “If people want to buy Australian produce they have to support producers who grow it.”
SUPPORTING SMALL
• Do searches online for local businesses to support.
• Do price comparisons.
• Allow plenty of time for the goods to be made.
• Be prepared to pay a deposit for some larger items that may take time to make.
• Be patient when it comes to delivery times.
Originally published as Shoppers urged to support Australian small businesses through Buy From The Bush