What does this website do?
It showcases the unique, specialist Brighton shops and restaurants that are right across the city Portslade to Saltdean.
Why shop local?
There are lots of ways in which shopping locally makes a real impact:
- helps create a vital sense of difference
- enables more independence and human contact
- can make more efficient use of public services
- enables people to shop without using a car
- means you can find more interesting and unique goods
- often means you get much better customer service
- allows for human-sized architecture
- encourages a sense of being somewhere, not just anywhere
- can stop money running out of the area so quickly
- can provide a greater local resilience and stimulate the wider local economy
There are also many good reasons to buy local food in particular. It's usually fresher, so tastes better. It can help us appreciate the changing seasons as well as the unique geography of our area and its links with the past.
It helps local producers and makes it possible for people to farm in a way that benefits the environment. It can mean a greater likelihood of the survival of meaningful and satisfying jobs.
Small-scale producers are often also more mindful of the importance of high environmental and animal welfare standards.
Buying locally can reduce carbon consumption as local market produce travels on average just 30 miles. This not only helps reduce the problem of local road congestion and air pollution, but may also help with wider issues of global climate change.
How did this project begin?
The project grew as an offshoot of another project which was about on the origins of local food and which was supported by Brighton and Hove City Council.
Sue Korman and the team at Claritymark have always supported local business and so they created this site in August 2005 for those who want to find distinctive places to shop.
The five other sections were set up to focus on the many other specialist shops in the city where the origins of what's sold is the key.
Why should a local business want to be included?
The site offers a stylish and very cost effective and communal showcase for specialist retailers and food outlets.It shows that, as well as the big names, there is still a vital and significant 'unchained Brighton'.
Only places in the Brighton and Hove area are listed; those where the products’ quality and origins are what really matter.
We're particularly keen to help to draw attention to provenance, which builds customer confidence and enhances the reputation of a business.
In particular, the site appeals to discerning visitors and residents who like to shop locally and who care about where things come from.
Why should shoppers wish to use this site?
Most people are keen support the local economy. Using our site makes it easier to do so as we only list those businesses unique to the area.
Buying products with a special provenance makes it easier to exercise a choice between items produced in different ways.
The importance of food origins is now obvious to most consumers but recent trends show that many people are now selecting all sorts of goods for ethical, environmental and social reasons.
Who owns the site?
The site is copyright protected and owned by Claritymark. You are free to copy pages from the site for your personal use but no license is given for reproduction for any other uses.
Is this site connected to Unique Brighton?
No, 'Unique Brighton' was set up after this site.It's the name that was given to the geographical area around The Lanes and North Laine that formed the Brighton Business Improvement District (BID).The businesses in that area jointly fund improvements like the Christmas lights , shop security and a delivery service.Their website lists only the businesses in the BID area.
©Claritymark July 2008
