The Buy Canadian movement is on the tip of everyone’s tongue at the moment, but there’s so much more to it than just avoiding purchasing from a certain neighbour.
We’ve been longtime proponents of buying as much locally made furniture as possible, and over the years have fostered great relationships with many high-quality Canadian manufacturers. This has given us a first hand look at the craftsmanship, manufacturing process, and true value of purchasing from local factories.
Here are the some of the top reasons you should consider purchasing Canadian made furniture.
Supporting Canadians At All Levels
This one is pretty obvious – especially in the age of Elbows Up amidst our trade war with the US, but there’s so much more to it than just supporting Canadian companies. We believe that buying Canadian and shopping at small, local businesses go hand in hand when it comes to supporting our economy.
When you buy Canadian made furniture from a local business, not only are you supporting the company and craftspeople who make the product, you’re supporting the warehouse staff, the retailer, the salespeople – the list goes on. If the product is made with fabric or wood from a domestic supplier (as many are), you can further add to this list of Canadians who are benefiting from your purchase.
Buy Canadian should be about so much more than a temporary retaliatory movement. It should changing the way you think about consuming products and services, because let’s be real – it’s not always possible to support local or Buy Canadian. However, a great place to start changing your mindset as a consumer is by asking yourself two simple questions before any purchase:
- Can I purchase this from a small/local business ?
- Is there an option to buy a Canadian manufactured product?
If the answer is yes to either or both, you can make an informed decision about your next step. Maybe the product you need isn’t available from a Canadian manufacturer, but it is available to purchase at a small local business – this is still a great step toward supporting our economy as a whole.
If we want Canadian businesses (especially small ones) to not just survive but thrive, we need to support them by actively purchasing their products and services – from something as small as your daily cup of coffee to more significant purchases like your living room furniture.
The fact of the matter is, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware don’t need your business. But independently owned furniture stores like us and small suppliers like those we purchase from (Vogel, Camlen, Campio, Silva, to name a few) absolutely do.
Get Better Value
Something that’s not talked about as often is just how much of the price of a product is tied up in hidden costs: shipping, duties, exchange.
Duties have always existed – long before the current trade war with the US, but they were quietly in the background increasing the cost of your purchases. Now, they are at the forefront of everyone’s mind and the topic of every conversation when it comes to the country of origin of consumer goods.
Generally speaking, the closer a product is made to where it ends up (in this case, your home), the more of your money is invested in the actual product as opposed to other factors. When you purchase Canadian made products, you save on shipping (especially with the skyrocketing cost of fuel these days), import taxes and duties, and any exchange from a different currency.
Last but certainly not least, the craftsmanship and quality of most furniture made in Canada is far better than what you’d be getting with imported product (sometimes selling at essentially the same price), and will last you for decades. When you factor in cost-per-use, it becomes clear that buying high-quality, locally-made furniture is a smart investment.
So, while the price may sometimes be higher, buying Canadian means you’re almost certainly getting better value for your money.
Protect Our Environment
If you’re someone who is concerned about the environmental impacts of your purchases, buying Canadian made is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.
The shorter the distance a product has to travel before it arrives to you, the fewer carbon emissions are produced in transit. This alone makes shopping locally a huge win for the environment.
Not only is investing in good quality furniture beneficial for your wallet, it’s also a huge win for the environment because those pieces aren’t winding up in a landfill in 5 years.
When you factor in manufacturing regulations regarding sourcing materials, waste production and disposal, recycling, etc. – it all points to buying local over imported products whenever possible as the most sustainable option.
