Wherever possible, I like to use home-grown or locally produced ingredients.
Italy itself has 21 different micro-regions. You go within each of those regions, there's even super-micro-regions; and the beauty is that when you go from place to place, although there's a common thread of pasta and joie de vivre - in the way that they approach their meals and the simplicity of cooking, celebrating more the product than the chef - there's still so much variety that as you go, it's always an exciting moment.
If you have a choice between buying something in Vietnam or China or buying something made in Virginia, why not buy it from people in Virginia? A lot of times, it's not much more expensive or may even be less.
People who are visiting Long Island find it's very beautiful, and they are quick to try Long Island foods, wines and other products.
I used to love going into local hardware stores, to look at little things they made locally. Nowadays it's harder, though you can still do it in Vietnam.
I'm a little obsessed with lip balm. When I go to a new place, I'll find the locally made natural lip balms and buy them as my little memento.
In Leh, the bazaar is famous for its silver jewellery and leather bags, both of which I bought in plenty.
Every month, about 20 tons of paper are wasted in restaurant menus alone, and so, you know, by that rationale, if you just ate your menu that was made from organic, local products, you could eliminate that paper waste.
Traveling around Ethiopia, I saw dozens of abandoned textile factories. People kept asking me to help them find work. So I thought I could make use of my experience in fashion to commercialize their products outside of Ethiopia.
Every community has its own specialty and it's not just for clothing obviously, but for the home, etc.
I'm not opposed - we manufacture a lot of socks in North Carolina - I just choose not to wear them. It's a Southern thing. It's a cultural thing.
I want people to buy British because it's the tastiest food and the most exciting food.
As a consumer and a mom, I've always been interested in local products.
SNAP benefits help local economies because the benefits are spent at local grocery stores - with locally grown and locally-made products. I remember many years ago, while on food stamps, I advocated for the benefits to be spent at local farmers markets - a move that has helped local economies even more.
If I'm hunting down gifts, I like to buy locally.
Best Buy is just too Western! They do not stock enough Chinese brands, and Chinese people do not want to buy foreign brands.
By using locally manufactured products, you will be able to help the small entrepreneurs in your area to a great extent.
The trouble with those people is that they think all the best things are made in the cities. It is not so.
I tend to pack light but still keep a large bag because I love to shop. For each destination I travel to, I like to buy something that the country or city is known for such as olive oil, truffle, jewelry, etc. I also like to buy perfumes because the smell brings me back to the memory of my travels.
When you bring in multi-brand retail items into the country, you're not just bringing the products, but you're also harming local manufacturers.
The experience is fundamentally different for buying from local businesses than it is for buying consumer goods.
I always believe in buying things locally; anything locally made is a big plus, along with organic materials. I try really hard to do that, and brands really pop out to me if I know they're trying to be environmentally friendly.
