Connect to Your Community by
SHOPPING LOCAL
By Kat Puzey
I
worked in corporate retail for ten years. My absolutely favorite time to work was on Black Friday and during the holiday season. I loved helping people shop for gifts, watching them get excited, and knowing that I was helping people have an amazing holiday. The longer I stayed in retail, the more I began seeing the glaring disconnect between my values and the big box store structure. I remember standing at the back door of our store and accepting a delivery of 1,098 boxes. Each box was stamped “Made in Bangladesh‘’ or some other foreign country. Each box contained twenty shirts that were sprayed with weird smelling chemicals to make them wrinkle free and encased in their own plastic baggy. I remember standing there, looking at the mountain of waste, and thinking, “There must be a better way.” I vowed to slow down when my son was born. That decision led me to get involved with our local farmers market. Each weekend, I was able to get to know our local farmers and artisans. I saw the blood, sweat, and tears poured into their crops and products. I heard their stories and watched their brands evolve.
54 Southern Utah Business Magazine :: Winter 2021
