Local Flemish businesses are concerned: "Don't do so much shopping abroad"
The organisation representing the self-employed, Unizo, is calling on Belgian consumers to buy more local stuff. Unizo has calculated that we spent 8 billion euros last year in shops and businesses abroad (often via online shopping), and therefore staged an awareness action in central Brussels.
The amount of 8 billion represents over 700 euros for each Belgian on average, or about 3,000 per year for a family of four.
"All this cash is lost cash for our economy", underlines Unizo, who staged a symbolic action at the Kunstberg on a rainy Friday (see video). The lion's share of these 8 billion (about 5.5 billion) is being spent in online shops. The other part, 2.5 billion, concerns purchases in border regions across the Dutch, French or Luxembourg border.
Danny Van Assche of Unizo claims that "if we could spend these amounts in Belgium, this would yield 45,000 local jobs." He added that it would make things more sustainable as well: "Less transport means fewer emissions from lorries and fewer traffic jams."
If we could spend this cash in local businesses, this would yield 45,000 extra local jobs