App Aims: Shop Local, Buy Local

Reviewer’s Comments
Globalization was, at one point, thought of positively. It provided cheap goods and services, while expanding consumers’ purchasing power beyond its traditional and historic capability. Unfortunately, the new cost-effective globalized approach proved a little too effective, driving local-owned businesses and services out of business while transforming citizens into consumers. Now, however, “Go Local” movements are reviving cities and returning them to the rightful stewardship of the citizens. The benefits might not translate to big-box savings, but they do reduce the carbon footprint exacted by the transportation costs necessary to ship non-local goods and provide jobs and a sense of community.

Now, Go-Localists have their very own iPhone app to find the latest news and blog posts on Local-oriented and even city-specific events and products. Whether it is announcement of a local farmer’s market or tips, tricks or even complete guides for starting your own garden, volunteering for community gardens or finding vendors that carry local foodstuffs, iLocavore gives locavores and supporters of “Go Local” movements a variety of tools and information to go local and stay local.

The app itself is more oriented towards news and information at this time but could, with continued development, grow to include information about which fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs are in season locally, giving users a leg-up during trips to the co-op or the farmer’s market. As it stands now, however, iLocavore is still a valuable resource and useful application in its own right.

Check out our other Green apps, music and movie download reviews as well as our other iPhone App reviews to help you get the most out of your iPhone and reduce your environmental impact on the world around you.