In July, author Stacy Mitchell (“Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses”) provided AAN members with a feature story on “local washing” — marketing by chain retailers, food conglomerates and other national and international corporations designed to co-opt the “buy local” movement. At last count, 30 AAN papers had run the story in some form or fashion (see the list below, with publication dates in parentheses).

I communicated with Stacy last week, and she mentioned that the story had picked up some steam on the national level. AlterNet posted it two weeks ago, and Utne Reader plans to run an excerpt in its November issue. In addition, Stacy was on the NPR station in Los Angeles last week to discuss the local-washing phenomenon, and she has been getting calls about the issue from daily-paper reporters as well. So the story continues to reverberate.

Artvoice (7/9)
Athens News (7/20)
Boise Weekly (7/22)
Boulder Weekly (7/16)
Chicago NewCity (8/6)
Cincinnati CityBeat (7/29)
Cleveland Scene (7/22)
Colorado Springs Independent (8/6)
C-Ville Weekly (7/9)
East Bay Express (7/9)
Fairfield Co. Weekly (9/16)
Flagpole (online 7/13)
Gambit (7/14)
Independent Weekly-Durham (7/8)
Jackson Free Press (7/29)
Las Vegas Weekly (7/23)
Louisville Eccentric Observer (7/29)
Metro Times (8/19)
Metroland (7/9)
Missoula Independent (8/20)
North Coast Journal (7/9)
Omaha Reader (7/9)
Orlando Weekly (8/20)
Pacific Northwest Inlander (9/9)
Pacific Sun (7/16)
Sacramento News & Review (7/16)
San Francisco Bay Guardian (7/15)
Seven Days (7/22)
Urban Tulsa Weekly (7/15)
Weekly Alibi (7/9)