By Jim Cavan

So often, “going green” is thought to mean spending a lot of it.

But this is the wrong way to look at it.

Take food. Albeit farfetched (unless, of course, you’re a college student) let’s say your entire diet consists of Ramen noodles, canned or microwavable foods, and soda. Say what you will about the contents – and how hard most of them are to pronounce – one thing is clear: these foods are cheap, meaning even the thinnest wallets have change to spare.

On the opposite end of the culinary spectrum you have your farmers market set. You know the type: they spend more on vegetables in a given month than most of us spend on rent; they look for taglines like “free range”, “hormone-free”, or “grass-fed”; and their idea of “fast food” is a $6 microwavable meal – all organic, of course.

But while these green foodies – an ever-growing sect here on the Seacoast – might seem silly for dropping $5 on a dozen eggs, when you look at the big picture, it’s those who spend the least on food that might be paying the most down the road.

Given the potential for health problems and related medical costs, taking the long view on eating habits can end up making those 2-for-1 gas station hot dogs a little more expensive than they were at the register. Likewise, the proven benefits of a lifestyle that makes room for organic or local food can make buying such products seem more like an investment in one’s health.

And that’s just food. The same rule can apply to almost any product or service. Be it clothing, kitchen utensils, cleaning products, lawn fertilizers or even energy systems, we seem to have grown accustomed to heeding the false choice between “going green” and “stretching the family dollar”.

But lucky for us on the Seacoast, there’s an ever-growing emphasis being placed on buying green and buying local – the idea being that these two things can actually help save you money. To that end, organizations such as Seacoast Buy Local and Green Alliance make it their mission to support area businesses that are helping keep the Seacoast one of the few silver linings on the otherwise dark cloud of the national economy.

According to the national group Choose Local, a dollar spent at a locally owned store is usually spent 6 to 15 times before it leaves the community. So for every dollar you spend, you create $5.00 to $14.00 in value within the community.

Spend $1.00 at a national chain store, on the other hand, and 80% of it leaves town as quickly as Wal-Mart’s automatic doors slide shut. That means a lower business tax base, which can result in higher property taxes and higher costs for everybody.

Contrastingly, even a “10% shift” in spending on local businesses – there’s actually a New England-based group called 10% Shift, started for exactly this purpose – would make a huge difference for a community, its schools, roads, police and fire departments, and infrastructure as a whole.

Sure, it might be marginally more expensive up front to buy higher-quality, green, local products from the mom-and-pop hardware store down the street. But rest assured you won’t end up like this writer, trying to return a month-old Ryobi weed-whacker when you practically snap it in half hitting it gently on a wooden beam.

At the end of the day, going green and local isn’t just about helping the environment, or bolstering the local economy, or even being healthy, although these are all certainly noble ambitions. It’s also about “saving green”. That’s because, on top of touting efforts to help reduce CO2 levels, increase local revenues, and prolong our lives, typical “green” products are also thought to impart another important pair of features: quality and durability.

Green products – unlike the throwaway, one-use smorgasbord of plastic stuff cramming the isles of most big box stores – are typically quality products. They’re often made of durable, recycled materials, and many of them can be recycled again and rendered into totally new products, ones that might go through four or five incarnations or more before they ever see – or smell – the landfill.

To say nothing of the long term savings from buying green and local, some are even helping consumers save on the products right off the bat. Green Alliance, for example, offers annual memberships which provide individuals discounts at over 85 local green businesses – everything from restaurants to construction companies to retailers to yoga studios. For a marginal up-front cost, you can save an average of 10 to 15% on everything from a loaf of bread to organic tee shirts and outerwear to biodegradable mops and cleaning products.

So while you shift 10% of your money to local businesses, you’re also shifting that amount back into your wallet.

The GA’s motto? “Buy Local. Buy Green. Save Money. Make a Difference.”

Now there’s some real food for thought. With ingredients you can actually read.