Over the past few weeks I’ve been interviewing local shops and businesses and asking them why they think people should shop locally.

Most of them talked about supporting the local economy and getting unique products you’re not likely to get in high street retailers.

Personally, I think people should shop locally but it should be out of choice.

I’ve seen the local independent shops in my town and although there’s not a lot of them there are mens and women’s clothing shops in Eastbourne.

Eighteen12 and With Love Boutique are possibly a couple of the coolest independent retailers I’ve seen nearby.

Both shops offer really high quality clothing and accessories that are unique to that store.

Eighteen12 has a variety of street, surf and skate wear that never fails to impress.

The sunglasses that are on offer here are amazing from what I can say. Yes they’re a bit pricey but if these things can stand up to the Australian sun they’ll have no problem protecting you from the English sunshine.

Rich Armstrong, owner of Eighteen12, said: “…If you don’t shop locally then you’ll end up losing all those little spots and the place will just be full of Starbucks and Topman.”

Eastbourne already has plans for an Arndale Centre upgrade with high street chains such as H&M getting involved.

Despite this, local independent businesses aren’t giving up and are continuing to show what makes them different from the mainstream brands.

With Love Boutique has a wide range of modern, chic and creative clothing. The owner, Holly Newman, claims that her shop offers a more “personal” service where each customer is treated like an individual rather than a simple sale.

Miss Newman has her own ‘With Love Boutique’ brand. She also plans to start selling her own selection of shoes in the summer.

I do see the temptation that people face with high street retailers offering similar clothes or services for less, but perhaps this comes at the cost of receiving lower quality in the long run.

I think a happy medium would be to try a range of both independent and mainstream shops. Yes you can sometime get things for less but you can also get something that you can guarantee someone else won’t be wearing.

If anyone has comments that they’d like to share about buying locally and supporting independent businesses then feel free to comment below or tweet them to me @jordyjourno on twitter.