How Some Sellers Avoid Supply Chain Issues With Creative Gifts

Not only is it the "most wonderful time of the year" but it's also the busiest shopping season of the year. 

Last minute shoppers might have less choices this year because of the global supply chain crisis, increasing prices across the board.

"The demand is just simply outpacing the capacity of our supply chain," Thomas Goldsby, professor of logistics and supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said.

In east Nashville, one holiday market has plenty of supply because many sellers aren't relying on the supply chain to make their one-of-a-kind gifts.   

Small businesses, like "Candle with a Handle," take old antiques and turn them into candles.

"You're giving it not only a second life, but then a third life," co-owner Samantha Taggart, said. "Second life is the candle I’d say. Third life: coffee, tea, alcohol, anything really."

Others sell reworked vintage clothing, not buying anything new to create their final product.

Consuming less is one way to put less pressure on supply chains, according to business professor Joseph Sarkis. He says our need to buy new is a huge burden, and consumers should reuse and recycle instead of buying new presents.

"People don't want to hear this because consumption is what drives our economy, which gives us jobs," Sarkis said. "Develop an economy that's circular. That is, nothing is a waste, ever so you don't have to rely on supply chains that go across the world that break down. You have a localized supply chain. Circular economy can do this."

Stores like Cool Stuff Weird Things in Nashville don't rely on the supply chain as much as other stores. 

"I have a different kind of business model than Lowe's or Wal-Mart, and I don't get all my stuff from China," the store's owner, Skip McPherson, said.

The store is filled with things you probably won't find anywhere else — stuff that's already in supply.

Besides markets like Nashville's or stores like Cool Stuff Weird Things, anyone looking to help the environment by cutting down on waste can join a Buy Nothing group on Facebook, which are local groups where people gift items aways for free.