International Year of Cooperatives

[livingdeb]

The year 2012 has been designated as the International Year of the Co-op by the United Nations in order to promote awareness of and membership in co-ops. This means my local food co-op has published a long article about co-ops and about how to purposefully forward co-ops:

Join and Support More Co-ops

I am a member of the following businesses from this list of co-ops:

* Wheatsville - I became a member because it was close to me and membership gave me better prices. I still go there, mostly for certain bulk items with good prices (organic cocoa, organic dark chocolate chips, sucanat) and whole wheat pastry flour. I also sometimes get bulk spices and Newman's Own spelt pretzels (taste like pretzels but also have fiber) there sometimes (these are mostly also available at HEB).
* University Federal Credit Union - I joined this when my savings and loan got bought out, twice, and stopped being free. I had to get my paycheck directly deposited to get the free checking back in those days, though I don't now.

In addition, a friend of mine lived in one of the college co-ops and I read the blog of someone who lives in another co-op and briefly worked at Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery.

I've never joined a co-op because it was a co-op. But some of the co-ops on that list show that starting a co-op can help you get into an expensive hobby by sharing expensive tools. For example, we have a screenprinting co-op, a film-making co-op, and a darkroom co-op. I could also easily imagine a theatre or ballroom dancing co-op (where you all go in on the theatre or ballroom). And you could have a co-op for selling your crafts (sort of like etsy but you all go in on a website, advertising and maybe a brick-and-mortar space).

Buy Products Created by Co-ops

I have interacted with a few other co-ops on the above list:

* Ecology Action - before our city got good with accepting a lot of recyclables, back when Ecology Action had receptacles behind Wheatsville, I used to bring a lot of recycling to them. I still use their website to find places to recycle odd things.
* REI - (that's a co-op?) - I've bought some outdoorsy things there.
* Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery - Wheatsville sells their vegan donuts and was giving out free samples once. They are delicious! However, I haven't bought any because they are also pricey.
* Treasure City Thrift - I've never been to this thrift store, though it sounds vaguely familiar. I'll add that to my list of places to check out.

The article also lists several non-local co-ops, too, some of which I patronize. They are mostly producers of organic dairy, coffee, chocolate, and other organic things.

I never choose a business based on its business structure, but rather based on the goods or services it provides. However, housing co-ops and some of those hobby co-ops do sound interesting.

Tell Your Friends

Hi, y'all!

Build Your Own Business Using the Co-op Model

This never occurred to me at all. The "businesses" I've owned have all been sole proprietorships. (You know, my tutoring business and my transcription business.) I suppose I could call my one-person businesses co-ops, but that would be silly. I've never imagined having any kind of business with more than one person. I guess if I ever did, I could think about co-ops. But I probably wouldn't. I guess it would depend who the other person or people in my business were. Very interesting, anyway.

Join the Austin Co-op Think Tank

This is a new group created to promote co-ops of all kinds and to assist new co-ops. I have no interest in joining this.

Be Stronger, Together

This is where they recommend patronizing the businesses of other Wheatsville owners. I suspect that Wheatsville members are a little nicer and greener than average, but there's no telling whether they'd be more competent than average. certainly if I had a business I wanted to advertise, I would consider getting it added to the Wheatsville Member-Owned Business Directory.

Comments

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

I've been to Treasure City, just a few weeks ago. I found two nice shirts and have been wearing them often! TC has days on which their profits go to specific charities, but they're always reallocating appropriate donations to the charities that need them (ie some books to Inside Books Project).

I'd shop more at Wheatsville if I lived closer, but I hate driving just to go to one place, so I don't go often.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

That's cool about Treasure City reallocating some donations.

I would shop at Whole Foods more often if it were closer, but there's one in the giant shoppingopolis that is 183 and MoPac, so I do actually get there every month or two. I also rarely go to Thrift Town and Thriftland (because of the distance), though by this point, there isn't much I need.

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I love Ecology Action. Back when I lived in an apt complex that didn't have recycling other than paper and tin/aluminum, I used to save up my other stuff to bring there when I was in the area. A great resource and repository.

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

I've done that before, too. Though in one apartment complex I lived in, I had to pass by a bunch of houses on my way to the bus, and I'd sometimes stick my recycling in with someone else's when they had loads of room!

Now I only make a special trip to donate things or to bring things to the hazardous waste place (batteries and lightbulbs).