We have now passed the annual Australia Day peak of calls urging us to “buy Australian” – especially lamb. The iconic green-and-gold “Australian Made, Australian Grown” logo, launched by then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1986, turns 40 this year.

We are also often encouraged to support local businesses in tough times. The recent devastating impacts of bushfires in Victoria highlights the importance of supporting local businesses in need.

But is buying local feasible or desirable for most Australians? Who buys Australian made – and why? These questions were at the heart of our latest research, which drew on a nationally representative survey of 924 Australian consumers.

We found a majority of Australians support buying local. But their motivations for doing so vary significantly – and not all are willing to pay more.

Most previous research has focused on local food. Much less is known about motivations for buying other kinds of local goods.

We asked people whether they sought to buy locally produced goods across a wide range of categories, including fruit and vegetables,........

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