The drought has impacted rural Australia hard, and not just when it comes to farming. While farmers undoubtedly have been doing it tough for years now thanks to lack of rain and, let’s be honest, inadequate political action on the consequences of that, rural businesses have also struggled.
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Rural businesses are struggling for a few reasons – obviously, the rise of online shopping has impacted their revenue, as rural-based shoppers can buy with ease over the internet these days. But drought-wise, the financial struggles of farmers in rural areas has meant less spending, which has led to local boutiques and small businesses shutting up shop in droves.
A recent initiative on Instagram, #BuyFromTheBush, is trying to fix that. They showcase rural-based boutiques and brands, encouraging city-dwelling shoppers to buy from bush businesses in an attempt to support them financially. It’s a fantastic cause – there are plenty of small shops making absolutely excellent stuff out in rural Australia, but it can be hard to get across them – especially if they’re not super clued-up on social media marketing.
Obviously their focus of late has been Christmas shopping. If you’ve left it too last minute to choof out to Goondiwindi or Dubbo, there’s still a way to shop bush – yep, Buy From The Bush are bringing small rural businesses to Sydney for a one-day pop up Christmas market.
This Thursday 12th December, #BuyFromTheBush are popping up in Martin Place from 8am – 8pm, showcasing 20 bush-based creators – think jewellery, art, baby stuff for those hard-to-buy-for little kids in your fam, the works.
So go on – do all that Chrissy shopping from vendors who really need the $$$, yeah?
