Is Buying Local Buying Green? Local options on the San Mateo Coast.
by Liz Hamill Scott
Patrons purchasing fresh Dungeness crab at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Staff photo.
Sept. 1, 2010 — How much does it matter whether you grab your groceries, hardware, clothes and cars over on the other side of the hill, versus buying the same things locally? Financially, it means a great deal. According to Charise Hale McHugh, president of the Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce, $73 out of every $100 spent locally stays local. Which in turn keeps the local economic wheels groaning along — a cause that’s grown even more important in recent recessed years.
Despite the charming small-town feel of the Coastside, you can buy a wide range of goods without ever needing to crest the hill. And the consumer-friendly deals at the hardware stores, clothing boutiques and car dealerships often make purchasing locally surprisingly easy on the wallet. At the Half Moon Bay Ford dealership, locals have been known to negotiate deals for only a few hundred dollars above the invoice price, then drive away on shiny new wheels. And in turn, that positive experience at the dealership brings that Ford owner back to the service center for regular maintenance — and thus thousands of dollars stay local rather than floating away to the valley.
But is buying local really buying green?
Pacifica Farmers Market. Photo courtesy of Erin Tormey.
According to Mother Nature Network, buying goods close to home rivals only buying online for minimal environmental impact. What can make buying local less green is the source of the goods — where they’re made, how far they’re carried in ships or planes or trucks, and how many warehousing stops they make on the way to their final retail destination.
The solution? Check tags and ask questions. When you can, buy goods that aren’t just sold locally but made locally, too. When you can’t buy Coastside-manufactured goods — and the reality is that lots of stuff just isn’t created here — work outward. Buy Californian if you can, then look to items made in the USA.
Half Moon Bay Ford dealership on Hwy. 1. Staff photo.
When most people think of buying local as buying green, they’re thinking of food. And that’s a retail area where Coastside local products shine. With the seasonal farmers markets in Half Moon Bay and Pacifica, and the often-organic farm stands littering the coastline, it’s easy to buy fresh local strawberries, artichokes, Brussels sprouts and greens. Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay supplies fresh fish and Dungeness crab in season — for the very freshest catch, head down to the harbor when the commercial fishing vessels come in, and haggle for whole fish. The Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero produces pretty flower-topped rounds of chevre, while the Phipps Country Store offers the best selection of heirloom beans anywhere in the Bay Area — plus plenty of other tasty produce and groceries.
To take your local purchasing power even further, look into buying non-edible local greener goods. The Main Street drag in Half Moon Bay is rife with the work of local artisans, from the high-end jewelry at Main Street Goldworks to the photographs, photo cards and gorgeous scarves sold at Kelly Street Gallery, just a block off Main Street. The wooden furniture at Made in Pescadero has more than just local cachet — the handcrafted tables, beds, chairs, and bureaus have the kind of lasting beauty that creates heirlooms that grandchildren will fight over.
No mass-produced-in-a-Third-World-sweatshop wobbly Ikea coffee table can claim the same.
Half Moon Bay Ford dealership on Hwy. 1. Staff photo.
205 North St., Pescadero
650-879-0480
Shop open daily 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
751 Kelly St., Half Moon Bay
650-726-4358
Open Sat. and Sun., 1-5 p.m.,
or by appointment
542 Main Street, Half Moon Bay
650-726-2546
Open Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Phipps Country Store offers heirloom beans, and the recipes and suggestions for use make the destination trip even more worthwhile. Photos courtesy of Monique Hodgkinson.
216 Stage Road, Pescadero
650-879-9128
Open Sat. and Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Mon. and Fri. noon-4 p.m.
2700 Pescadero Rd., Pescadero
650-879-1032
Open daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. through October, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. November-March
Shoreline Station, Half Moon Bay
May-December, Sat., 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Rockaway Beach, Pacifica
May-December, Weds., 2:30-6:30 p.m.
For a laundry list of Coastside businesses, check out the local chambers of commerce:
