Growing Vermont, a student run store in the Davis Center, offers a wide representation of Vermont-based vendors aiming to keep their products local.From clothing to food and arts and crafts to jewelry, the store uses a model of sustainable community-based economic development through educational partnerships between UVM students and Vermont entrepreneurs, according to their website.Growing Vermonts philosophy of sustainability and supporting local businesses is embraced by its staff and supervisors.Sophomore Adrianna Ukaj, in charge of Growing Vermont student body awareness and store layout, said that it is important to think of the local community before thinking about the entire population.With her interests and Growing Vermonts philosophy in mind, Ukaj said practicing sustainability and local business development reaps greater benefits than the principles of mass production.You need to start thinking about your community around you, she said. Were trying to create awareness of smaller businesses more than larger companies like Urban Outfitters and H&M they dont really care about who they sell their products to.Ukaj said that business success should depend more upon the well-being and interactions of vendors and consumers, rather than on appealing to trends that will sell commercially.We care about whos getting our products, who can benefit and our vendors, she said. We care about them and what theyre trying to sell; its supposed to be more of a small community impact as opposed to strictly gaining profit.Growing Vermont describes itself as a real-world laboratory where UVM students apply their academic lessons in entrepreneurship to solve business problems, according to the website. The importance of promoting and supporting local vendors is the primary focus of this entrepreneurial spirit.Its important to keep business where its made, staff member and junior Vienna McLeod said. Its nice to make a difference in the local economy working here.Chloe Weiland, supervisor of Growing Vermont, has pursued graduate school with a focus on small business development.As far as choosing vendors, its going with your gut instinct but also looking at the profit margin of products, Weiland said. Some of the vendors that were buying from have been with us since [2007] and they were UVM grads.In her thesis, Weiland plans to evaluate the execution of Growing Vermonts philosophy and goals.What Im trying to do is an evaluation of [Growing Vermont] and the educational impact, Weiland said. [Growing Vermont] is a really unique tool for teaching entrepreneurship because its a practical learning laboratory.In capturing the combination of entrepreneurship and sustainability, Growing Vermont expresses itself as a cooperative environment for students working to expand their entrepreneurial skills through practicing the values of local economic representation.For more information about Growing Vermont and its vendors, visit www.uvm.edu/~growvt.