Heading off to a vacation can take a lot of preparation. Travel, accommodations, currency, and of course – my favourite – packing a suitcase full of looks. Often times people purchase a new article or two for their time away.  

Maybe it’s a new pair of shoes, a swim suit, or a lovely dress. Maybe it’s all of that. It’s fun to have new things. As consumers we are not always great at looking inside the garment to see where it is made. I’m guilty of that from time to time. Knowing where something is made takes effort. But shouldn’t we try and put in some more effort? Could we care more about our purchases? That’s when I got thinking, what happens if we’d buy less at home and more when you land? 

Cue the gorgeousness of a trip to Mexico. No surprise, tourism in is a huge economic driver for the country. Nearly ten percent of their GDP can be attributed to tourism. And it’s still growing. Jobs, infrastructure, and standard of living are all on the rise. Mexico is the twelfth largest exporter in world. Not too shabby for a relatively small country, hey? Thanks to NAFTA, USA and Canada are key partners.

Walking around the resort and not currently needing an avocado (produce is on that long list of key exports) I popped into the resort gift shop. I do love to squeeze in shopping whenever I can. After browsing for a bit, the attendant seemed proud to share that everything inside was made locally in Mexico. He went further to say that artisans and crafts people’s work fills the store and you won’t find a “Made in China” sticker or imprint on anything. Sharing more, he said that new articles come in every day. Like any good salesperson, he knew what items were in high demand and short supply.

As a kid, I thought it was pretty amazing that I could live in a little rural town and yet have products from all over the world. Plates from China, glass from Austria, fabric from India, you name it. Shout out to globalisation.

As you get older and start to understand how money works you realise that everything has an opportunity cost. If you buy that dress from person A, person B misses out on the sale. They, too, miss out on the wealth that sale provides. I learned that buying bread from the local baker means the baker can buy a dress from a local artisan neighbour. Of course, there’s enough to go around, and especially so if you keep supporting one another.

Sure, there are critics that may doubt the legitimacy of sales pitches or at the very least, balk at the price paid. I hear you and that’s fair enough. However, often my own devil’s advocate, another part of me goes, “So what?” Even if I overpay, doesn’t that mean I help line some pockets? Then hopefully that person shares that with their family. Great news for everyone.

Supporting locals while staying in their salty, humid, devastatingly gorgeous backyard is a nice thing to do. Perhaps I’m a touch romantic about my current surroundings. Maybe it’s too many margaritas. Maybe it’s a bit of both. I think it’s a simple thing: purchasing a “made in Mexico” item while staying in Mexico feels good.