According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. Since 1995, small businesses have generated 64 percent of new jobs, and paid 44 percent of the total United States private payroll, according to the SBA.

If you are reading this, then you are probably a customer of ours or hopefully you soon will be!  WOOT WOOT!  THANK YOU for shopping small! 

One of the guiding principles of our lives, both in business and in our personal lives, is helping others and our community.  As a business, the best way that we can do this is to get our supplies and services as locally as possible, from people and businesses who share the same values of social consciousness and personal responsibility to their employees that we have, even if sometimes we pay at a higher price! 

Here is how we see it...

Lets take one of our main ingredients, Organic African Shea Butter, for example.  As the fat extracted from the nut of the African Shea Tree, its impossible to get this product "Made in the USA".  We acknowledge that.  The trees simply don't grow here!  However that doesn't mean that we can't "locally source" it! 

When we were looking for a supplier of Shea Butter, we came across a family owned company located right here in NY, and even better, 3 towns away from our headquarters!  Now, we could get this product from many suppliers across the world, and many in the USA too, possibly at cheaper prices - but our new friend Muj, lives, works and has children in our local community. 

When we buy 100 pounds of Shea Butter, a large portion of that money stays, not only in the USA, but in OUR immediate community!  He shops at his local grocery store, he pays his school taxes and send his little queen bee (she's the cutest) to dance lessons!  His business pays taxes to the state of NY, and he employs LOCAL men & women, who he pays a decent living wage so they too can support their families locally.  

Not only can we feel good about staying local, but the quality of his products (we get much more than just Shea Butter from him) are superb and his service is white-glove. 

Another company that we love working with is SKS Bottle & Packaging - they are the company that supplies us with our jars, bottles and tubes.  We'd NEVER go to any other company.  Why, you might ask?  

SKS is a family owned, New York business that was started out of garage! (Sound familiar?)   They have great pricing, quality products and BEST OF ALL... 85% of their stocked products are MADE IN THE USA, so not only are they employing other New York residents, they are helping to keep jobs IN THE US!  

These two companies are mainstays in our supplier portfolio - we keep going back, not always because they are the cheapest, but because of the shared values and sense of community we get from working with them. 

We know that our dollars are going back into the community to benefit everyone, not being whisked away to some billion dollar corporations off-shore account.  

"Do you make a point of shopping locally? What about shopping local? While they might sound same, there’s an important distinction — at least in my mind. When I say “shop locally,” I’m referring to the practice of buying from stores in your community. But when I say “shop local,” I’m talking about buying from locally-owned small businesses."

Leave us a comment and let us know what you think?

Want to read more about why its best to shop small and local? Check out these links! 

Shopping Local vs. Shopping Locally 

Hey, Small-Business Owner, Do You Shop Local? 

FORBES: Why You Need To Support Small Businesses

How Mom & Pop Can Help Save The Economy

10 Ways Small Business Benefit The Local Community

8 Ways Small Business Help Communities

FORBES: 16 Surprising Statistics About Small Businesses