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20 Creative Worker Cooperatives

From Opportunity-Generating Accessories to Upcycled Train Stations

— December 8, 2011 — Social Good
While they may not have been labeled as such, creative worker cooperatives pretty much date back to the beginning of time. According to the International Cooperative Alliance's Statement on the Cooperative Identity, a cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise."

This Social Business top list of creative worker cooperatives spans the seemingly traditional, like a food coop, to the more avant-garde, like the first cooperative brothel in Vancouver, British Columbia. The majority of these creative worker cooperatives, however, incorporate social business and social enterprise principles into their working models. Many contemporary companies strive to achieve sustainability and responsibility through sourcing materials or final products from cooperatives in the Majority World, many of them specifically women's cooperatives, as a way to focus on gender equality through employment.
5.9
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
20
Safe Neon Clothing
Safe Neon Clothing
BrightKidz is a Social Enterprise That Sells High Visibility Designs
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19
Sustainable Society Cooperatives
Sustainable Society Cooperatives
The Zebra Collective is a Social Enterprise Supporting Workers
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18
Sustainable Supermarket Produce
Sustainable Supermarket Produce
Food From the Sky's Rooftop Garden Provides Store Veggies
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17
Coffee Connection Sites
Coffee Connection Sites
Coffee CSA Lets You Connect with and Buy from Java Farmers Worldwide
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16
Job-Creating Bike Shops
Job-Creating Bike Shops
Cycle Salvation Trains and Employs the Economically Disadvantaged
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15
Job-Creating Cleansers
Job-Creating Cleansers
Co-Soap is a Worker Cooperative Using Cosmetics for Good
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14
Fair Trade African Soda
Fair Trade African Soda
Ubuntu Cola is a First for the United Kingdom
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13
High Class Cooperatives
High Class Cooperatives
The Deli Garage Creates High End Goods on a Budget
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12
Healthy Super Chocolate
Healthy Super Chocolate
Xocai
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11
Upcycled Train Stations
Upcycled Train Stations
El Galpon is an Organic, Fair-Trade Market Made out of a Transit Depot
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10
Opportunity-Generating Accessories
Opportunity-Generating Accessories
'Hands Up Not Handouts' Uses Business for Positive Change
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9
Fair Trade Shea Butter
Fair Trade Shea Butter
Delapointe's Products are Made by Women in Burkina Faso
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8
Fair Trade Cocoa
Fair Trade Cocoa
Divine Chocolate is a Social Business Partly Owned by Its Farmers
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7
Female Prisoners Launch Charity Fashion Label
Female Prisoners Launch Charity Fashion Label
Jail Cats
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6
Co-Op Cacoa
Co-Op Cacoa
Kallari Chocolate Bars Support 850 Families and the Rainforest
<
5
Midas Touch Meals
Midas Touch Meals
Trick Out Your Tomatoes with Edible Gold & Silver Paint by Esslack Food Spray
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4
Fashionable Fair Trade Apparel (UPDATE)
Fashionable Fair Trade Apparel (UPDATE)
Indego Africa Gives Artisans a Protected Place to Create
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3
Organic Shoes by Veja
Organic Shoes by Veja
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2
Co-Operative Brothels
Co-Operative Brothels
'The Brothel Project' Looks to Start First Ever Legalized Brothel in Canada
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1
Charitable Paper Jewelry
Charitable Paper Jewelry
Jenny Lai and Lindsay Perkins Partner With KEZA for Eco Fashion Collectio
<