All Resources
190 Results
Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses
Big-Box Swindle was named one of the top ten business books of the year by Booklist and described by Bill McKibben as “the ultimate account...
Voters Reject Massive Big-Box Complex in Mendocino County, California
Despite being outspent 12-to-1, a grassroots group campaigning against a plan to build a massive big-box complex in Mendocino County, California, won a decisive victory...
Santa Rosa Rejects Big Box and Goes Local
In a crowed public hearing room, the city council of Santa Rosa, California, soundly defeated a proposed Lowe’s store on a 5-2 vote. The vote...
Leslieville Group Stops Big-Box Shopping Center
The grassroots group, East Toronto Community Coalition, was awarded for its efforts when the Ontario Municipal Board rejected a developer’s plan to bring a big-box...
Big, Empty Boxes
Abandoned big-box stores, dead and dying strip malls and empty storefronts are about to join foreclosed houses as one of the defining features of the...
How Big are Big-Box Stores?
Wal-Mart and Target are currently building "supercenters," which combine their usual array of merchandise with a full supermarket and numerous specialty services from cut flowers...
Legislative Platform to Strengthen America’s Independent Businesses
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the demise of independent businesses is not the inevitable result of market forces and consumer choices. Public policy at all levels...
Big Retailers Seek Exclusive Deals on Books and Albums
When a small publisher recently agreed to let Amazon.com be the exclusive seller of a new book about Barack Obama, the deal sparked a flurry...
Home Depot Project Stopped in Long Beach, CA
Five years after the project was first introduced, the homeowners group, University Park Estates Neighborhood Association, has thwarted plans for a 140,000-square-foot Home Depot in...
Sharp Rise in Shopping Center Vacancies
Shopping center construction continues at a furious pace, even as chain retailers announce plans to close more than 6,500 outlets and vacancy rates soar.… Read...
Group Convinces Town to Pass Moratorium on Big-Box Development
The grassroots group, New Scotlanders for Sound Economic Development (NS4SED), has convinced the town board in New Scotland, NY, to pass a moratorium on commercial...
Groups Stop Super Target in Connecticut
Together, two grassroots groups have thwarted a development proposal that would have paved the way for a 128,000-square-foot Super Target in Simsbury, CT.… Read More
Declaration of Independents — Lecture
This lecture was delivered by Stacy Mitchell at the 26th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.… Read More
Maine Enacts Landmark Law Requiring Economic Impact Studies of Big-Box Projects
For Immediate Release: June 29, 2007 Contact: Daphne Loring, Maine Fair Trade Campaign, (207) 777-6387; Stacy Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (207) 774-6792 Maine Enacts...