Consumer studies and statistics are clear: There’s value in buying locally, especially during the holidays. Local businesses are more than twice as generous to hometown nonprofits that fulfill community-specific needs, according to the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), and they are more loyal and accountable to the people they employ and live among. Local businesses are typically small, and this sector of the economy employs about half of the private sector workforce.

Shopping locally reduces environmental impacts associated with transportation. It supports businesses that offer products and services that reflect local tastes and a community’s distinctive character.

But the best reason to spend money at a local business rather than an absentee-owned business — including during the critical holiday shopping season — is the financial recycling that results.