Co-ops Rock Because They Sustain Our Environment
Long before "green" was a marketing keyword to promote everything from game shows to gasoline brands, cooperatives were working for a healthier planet and more sustainable world.
Co-ops Rock Because They Are Pioneers
The cooperative movement began in northern England in 1844 when a group of working-class artisans and craftspeople called the Rochdale Pioneers grew tired of being victimized by an economic elite.
Co-ops Rock Because They Walk on the Wild Side
The cooperative movement is made up of rugged individualists (and more than a few eccentic characters) united by a common bond to work for a better, more cooperative world.
Co-ops Rock Because They Build Character
U.S. President Barack Obama was an active member of a storied cooperative in Chicago. The cooperative movement, by nature, builds leadership and a sense of dedication to community service.
Co-ops Rock Because They Fight for Social Justice
Without justice, there can be no cooperation. Without cooperation, there can be no justice. Cooperatives work for a more just world so that many will not bear extraordinary burdens for the benefit of a few.
Co-ops Rock Because They are Visionary
Many concepts considered no-brainers today—such as organics, the local-food movement, environmental sustainability, and fair trade—were advocated by people in the cooperative movement decades ago.
Co-ops Rock Because They Are Revolutionary
Today's common practices were yesterday's revolutionary ideas. Cooperatives were born out of a sense of socioeconomic revolution—which still fuels the cooperative movement today.
Co-ops Rock Because They Believe in Economic Equality
One person desire for profits should not drive many other people into poverty. The cooperative movement works to build robust, sustainable local economies so that all may benefit by mutual cooperative efforts.
Cool Co-op Stuff
Yo! NCGA Co-ops!
In true MTV Cribs style, the staff of Tidal Creek Co-Op show off some of the reasons...
Go Co-op
A classic video about the importance of buying local and being part of a co-op, from...
What Do You Say?
Get down with a music video featuring two fine spoken-word performance artists and...
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How to Get Involved
Find a Co-op
Looking for a cooperative in your area? The good folks at Go.Coop have made the search...
What it Means to be a Cooperative
Cooperatives are member-owned, member-governed businesses that operate for the benefit...
How to Start a Co-op
Every co-op starts with an idea. One or two people see a need and envision a way...
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Learn Something About the Cooperative Movement
Cooperatives: Born and Bred for Hard Times
Credit default swaps, TARP, Ponsi schemes, too-big-to-fail investment banks; our news is full of economic concepts many of us hadn’t heard of before. With all the dire forecasts and hand-wringing over “how could this have happened” and what the “right” solution is, as parties line up accusing each other of being “corporate” or “socialist,”... [Read more]
Building a Co-operative Economy Together
A co-owner of mine recently shared an interesting interaction. A woman came up to her at a co-op event that we were sponsoring and said that she had been a passionate Equal Exchange supporter in our early days, but assumed that after nearly 25 years we had sold out to grow or survive. Given the current climate of corporate bailouts and the long list... [Read more]
Types of Cooperatives
Cooperatives are often formed to provide their members with goods and services or economic benefits not provided by the marketplace. Thus, co-ops operate a wide variety of businesses. All are owned and run by the people they serve. Here are a few examples: Consumer Co-ops like the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society may operate food stores, pharmacies,... [Read more]
Cooperative History
Today’s cooperatives trace their origins to England’s Industrial Revolution. In the first half of the nineteenth century, living conditions were extremely harsh for working class people in the textile milling towns of northern England. Mill workers labored long hours under dangerous working conditions for low pay. Plagued by unending poverty,... [Read more]
Co-op Principles and Values
The International Cooperative Alliance, established in 1895, is considered to be the final authority for defining cooperatives and the principles by which they operate. The organization has made three formal statements of cooperative principles over the past 100 years in an effort to keep them relevant to the contemporary world. At its 100th anniversary... [Read more]
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