*Update* The Sustainable CO-OP Store is now Yuti Co-op. Please go to our website here to join the community or to keep in touch.
Welcome! I'm excited to invite you to the first general meeting of a new worker-owned CO-OP (cooperative) business aimed at making it easy for the masses to shop sustainable friendly products.
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As is standard of CO-OPs, the goal of this first meeting is to figure out who is interested in working on the project and to determine our mission so that we have an agreed-upon vision to work towards. I liken it to friends coming together to begin organizing and planning an event they're enthusiastic about.
My name is Vivek George. I'm passionate about the environment and finding a way for humanity to shop sustainably. While I don't know every step required, I'm certain if we can assemble a driven, determined group, together we can solve this problem.
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As the catalyst for this meeting and to provide more clarity on why I'm calling for this gathering, below I've detailed four interconnected principles to rally around:
1. Make it easy for consumers to buy every day, high-quality household goods that are made of the most sustainable materials and in an environmentally conscious way.Â
2. To become a top retailer of such products.Â
3. To create a workplace for long-term employment where each member-owner can do their best life's work.
4. Be considerate corporate citizens.
(these ideas are merely a starting place for us as a group to determine an agreed-upon mission)
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While these four points may seem simple, if they can be accomplished, we will play a key role in preserving a healthy environment for our future, decreasing our impact on nature, inspiring others to start democratically run businesses, and much more.
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If this general vision resonates, amazing! Please come out on January 26th to be part of refining this mission further and defining some of the initial pieces of this new business.Â
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While I'm very serious about creating this new company, at the center of the CO-OP movement is "cooperation." Alone we may not be able to build the future we desire, but together the only thing limiting us is the courage to dream big. Humanity has shown this ability countless times. So as new friends let's come together and do it again!
Sincerely,
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Vivek George
PS. Please spread the word!Â
Special thanks to the current team - Adam, Anna, Erika and Ula.
We are now Yuti Co-op. Please go to yuticoop.com to learn more, join the movement or keep in touch. Thank you!
CO-OP stands for Cooperative. While there are various types of CO-OPs, we hope to create a worker-owned cooperative (or perhaps a multi-stakeholder coop) where the workers are the business owners. This TEDx talk does a nice job of explaining what a CO-OP is in greater detail and their value as a business type.
While "hard skills" are essential, with the right attitude, most skills can be developed. The most critical traits required to become a team member of a CO-OP are a passion for the mission, a belief in the cooperative business model, and the desire to roll up your sleeves and help however is needed.
That said, the primary business areas where we will need to most help include:
Marketing/branding
Software developmentÂ
Operations (logistics, vendor relations, customer support, CO-OP management, and education, etc)
The power of a cooperative business is the sharing of the work between many people. The amount of work each member will do initially will be up to them, but if we can effectively work as a team it should be manageable for each person.
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That said, initially, 1-5 hours of work/week can be expected and as work ramps up, 10-15 hours/week can be expected. Similar to starting any new business on the side.
It's common for many CO-OPs team members to be compensated for initial research and other preliminary work once the business gets sufficient investment or generates revenue. As a group, this is one of many decisions we need to determine.
This work also helps establish the individuals eligible to become the first worker-owners.
There many reasons, but the three main reasons are:Â
1. We strongly believe in the democratic nature of CO-OPs. Â
2. More even income and profit distribution between all team members of a CO-OP.
3. Long-term, the only way to create a 100% sustainable shopping experience for consumers is to be a mission-driven organization above a financially driven one.
This third reason is nearly impossible to stick to long-term for a traditional business.
Sure. The three best ways you can help before the meeting would be:
- Spread the word to friends and family who may be interested. We're going to need many hands to tackle this problem :)
- Begin learning about worker-owned CO-OPS and why they are important.
- Thoughtfully think about the problem of making it easy for shoppers to buy sustainably produced products.
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If you want to get involved further, hit the "contact the organizer" button at the bottom to connect.
