Costco offers a smorgasbord of fresh food from around the world, year-round and at affordable prices. Nordstrom sells upscale clothing and accessories made in China. Bellevue truck maker Paccar diversifies its revenue with nearly 50 percent of its growth coming from Europe, Canada, Mexico and Australia.

The common denominator is the global supply chain and all the cheap labor, mass production, growth opportunities and conveniences of modern society it enables. Yet, in spite of the embrace of globalization, there is a countertrend at work.

Call it New Localism. It is exemplified most visibly by the growing popularity of farmers markets, but also includes a drive toward developing local supply chains for manufacturing, in everything from machine parts to homes and offices. Part of the reason is the desire by businesses to have environmentally friendly practices - it generates good publicity. But others are finding that these practices also bring benefits to the bottom line: less shipping and processing can mean more profits.

There is perhaps no better time than now to produce and purchase goods, services and food locally, and to do so in a sustainable way. That's because the global supply chain is showing cracks: recalls of toys, pet foods, toothpaste and other products made in China have prompted a consumer backlash and opened new markets for locally made goods. At the same time, the number of affluent consumers craving quality and authenticity, not quantity and cheapness, has been growing, a trend only accentuated by the China recalls.

Meanwhile, high oil prices have hit consumers at the pump and spurred start-up companies to search for alternative (and cheaper) sources of energy, while others, including Seattle biodiesel refinery Imperium Renewables, seek to capitalize on the trend. And finally, one of the big drivers of these trends is demographics: the retirement of baby boomers and the rise of Generations X and Y, who frequently shun the values of late 20th century consumerism held by their parents. "A critical mass is finally in the marketplace," says Trudy Bialic, director of public affairs for PCC Natural Markets, the Seattle organic grocery cooperative.

No one is saying globalism is dead. In fact, Issaquah-based Costco is renowned for thoroughly vetting its global supply lines, and even Wal-Mart, criticized for its eco-unfriendly footprint, is scrambling to go green. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, during a recent visit to the century-old and internationally flavored Pike Place Market in Seattle, said Americans still want "fresh strawberries in February" and low prices, which the global marketplace provides. He added that Americans buy $2 trillion worth of products from 825,000 sources through 300 ports.

However, New Localism is rising in Washington state, where a desire to cultivate local and innovative businesses intersects with a drive to protect our land and water. New Localism is green but businessminded in drawing up its plans. It scoffs at the notion that more is better and reminds you that better is, in fact, better. It saves the planet not by curtailing prosperity, but by innovating and embracing new technologies. It recycles its waste and it renews its neighborhood. It discards partisan thinking, rejects simplistic sayings such as "buy local" and pursues authenticity. Above all, it does business. It is not confined to environmentalists and consumer activists.

Dale Shafer, president of Spokane-based L&S Engineering Associates Inc., which emphasizes sustainable design and engineering practices, is a political conservative, one who wants to make money and save the planet. "It's not Republican versus Democrat," he says. "It's something we need to do together."