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As a co-op, part of Chatham Marketplace’s mission is to be a sustainable business venture. But what is "sustainability"?

SUSTAINABILITY AS A THREE-LEGGED STOOL

The 3 Legs of a Well-balanced Stool:

1. COMMUNITY - For actions to be sustainable they must help strengthen the local community by drawing people together in common places, with common goals, and with respect, caring, and a sense of responsibility for one another. Very simply, sustainable actions foster good relations among everyone.
   
   
2. ECONOMY - Those same actions must help stimulate the local economy. We need to meet most of our needs with the goods and services provided by local producers and business owners. This keeps community assets circulating among us.
   
   
3. ENVIRONMENT - Furthermore, our actions must take into account the effect on our natural resources. Our endeavors must be carried out with a long-term perspective on the environment. The health of our air, land, water, and life forms of all kinds is crucial to us all. It is our responsibility to safeguard the health of our environment.

"THE QUICK SUSTAINABILITY TEST":

1. Can you keep doing what you’re doing indefinitely without destroying something of value?
   Or better yet,
   
   
2. Can many people do what you’re doing indefinitely without destroying something of value?
   1. YES, I’m engaged in activities that enhance life in my community and that are cyclical and replenishing to my local economy and environment.
      
      
   2. NO, I’m engaged in activities that alienate my neighbors, siphon financial resources out of my community, and do not respect the importance of a healthy environment.

Chatham Marketplace can answer YES to this question, and we hope you can too!

Chatham Marketplace is a co-op literally owned by the community it serves. As such, it will provide financial, social, and health benefits to all its patrons. Chatham Marketplace will be a welcoming place to shop and gather with friends and family. Our co-op also empowers owners to be involved in governance by voting and/or sitting on the Board of Directors. Owners receive a year-end Patronage Refund based on the amount of their purchases and profitability of the Co-op. Store profits are also used to improve Chatham Marketplace services or stimulate other local economic development. Chatham Marketplace will also provide a regular and efficient outlet for local, sustainably grown foods, bringing these items to more and more people, thereby simultaneously benefiting our economy, in our buying and selling, and supporting the efforts of environmentally sound agriculture.

Please join us in girding up the sustainability stool. Buy your Chatham Marketplace ownership share today!

480 Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro, NC 27312 | 919-542-2643 | 8AM - 8PM Every Day
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