View source for Consumer cooperative

{{Short description|Enterprise owned and managed democratically by consumers}}
[[Image:Raunds Co-Op.jpg|thumb|right|[[Raunds Co-operative Society]] Limited was a consumer co-operative society based in Raunds, Northamptonshire, founded in 1891.]]
A '''consumer cooperative''' is an [[business|enterprise]] owned by consumers and managed [[democracy|democratically]] and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Consumer Co-operatives: Democracy - Development - Employment|author=Euro Coop|url=http://www.eurocoop.org/dmdocuments/publication_report/ConsumerCooperatives08.pdf|page=4|access-date=2011-06-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325010525/http://www.eurocoop.org/dmdocuments/publication_report/ConsumerCooperatives08.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-25}}</ref> Such cooperatives operate within the [[market economy]] independently of the state, as a form of [[mutual aid]] oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit.<ref>{{cite book |last=Warbasse |first=James Peter |author-link=James Peter Warbasse |title=Cooperative Peace |url=http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/coopp.html |year=1950 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020063906/http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/coopp.html |archive-date=2014-10-20 }}</ref> Many cooperatives, however, do have a degree of profit orientation. Just like other corporations, some cooperatives issue dividends to owners based on a share of total net profit or earnings (all owners typically receive the same amount); or based on a percentage of the total amount of purchases made by the owner. Regardless of whether they issue a dividend or not, most consumers’ cooperatives will offer owners discounts and preferential access to goods and services.

Consumer cooperatives often take the form of retail outlets owned and operated by their consumers, such as [[food cooperative]]s.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = O'Sullivan | first1 = Arthur | author-link = Arthur O'Sullivan (economist) | first2 = Steven M. | last2 = Sheffrin | title = Economics: Principles in Action | publisher = Pearson Prentice Hall | year = 2003 | location = Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 | page = 203 | isbn = 0-13-063085-3}}</ref> However, there are many types of consumers' cooperatives, operating in areas such as health care, insurance, [[housing cooperative|housing]], [[utility cooperative|utilities]] and personal finance (including [[credit union]]s).

In some countries, consumers' cooperatives are known as '''cooperative retail societies''' or '''retail co-ops''', though they should not be confused with [[retailers' cooperative]]s, whose members are retailers rather than consumers.

Consumer cooperatives may, in turn, form a [[cooperative federation]]. These may come in the form of a [[cooperative wholesale society]] through which consumers' cooperatives collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices and, in some cases, own factories. Alternatively, they may be members of [[cooperative union]]s.<ref name="Gide">{{cite book |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520122644/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD3271xG453 |title=Consumers' Co-operative Societies |first=Charles |last=Gide |author-link=Charles Gide |translator=Co-operative Reference Library, Dublin |year=1922 |url=http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD3271xG453 |archive-date=2008-05-20 |url-status=live |page=122 |isbn=1-116-75261-1}}</ref>

Consumer cooperation has been a focus of study in the field of [[cooperative economics]].

==History==
[[File:New harmony vision.jpg|thumb|Model of [[Robert Owen]]'s visionary project for a cooperative settlement. [[Owenism|Owenites]] fired bricks to build it, but construction never took place.]]
Consumer cooperatives rose to prominence during the [[Industrial Revolution]] as part of the [[labour movement]]. As employment moved to industrial areas and job sectors declined, workers began organizing and controlling businesses for themselves. Workers cooperatives were originally sparked by "critical reaction to industrial capitalism and the excesses of the industrial revolution." The formation of some workers cooperatives was meant to "cope with the evils of unbridled capitalism and the insecurities of wage labor."<ref>Adams, Frank and Gary Hansen (1993) Putting Democracy To Work: A Practical Guide for Starting and Managing Worker-Owned Businesses, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, San Francisco</ref>

The first documented consumer cooperative was founded in 1769,<ref name=fairbairn>{{cite web|last=Fairbairn|first=Brett|title=The Meaning of Rochdale|url=http://www.usaskstudies.coop/pdf-files/Rochdale.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111091547/http://www.usaskstudies.coop/pdf-files/Rochdale.pdf|archive-date=2012-01-11}}</ref> in a barely-furnished cottage in [[Fenwick, East Ayrshire]], when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the [[Fenwick Weavers' Society]].

In the decades that followed, several cooperatives or cooperative societies formed including Lennoxtown Friendly Victualling Society, founded in 1812.<ref>[http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/Web+Site/Live/EDWebLive.nsf/LU-AllContent/PBAD-5UDKEV?OpenDocument Lennoxtown (Local History)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319133616/http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/Web%20Site/Live/EDWebLive.nsf/LU-AllContent/PBAD-5UDKEV?OpenDocument |date=2007-03-19 }}</ref>

The philosophy that underpinned the cooperative movement stemmed from such [[socialism|socialist]] writers as [[Robert Owen]] and [[Charles Fourier]]. [[Robert Owen]], {{weasel inline|text=considered by many|date=March 2022}} as the father of the cooperative movement, made his fortune in the cotton trade, but believed in putting his workers in a good environment with access to education for themselves and their children. These ideas were put into effect successfully in the [[cotton mill]]s of [[New Lanark]], [[Scotland]], where the first co-operative store was opened. Spurred on by this success, Owen had the idea of forming "villages of co-operation" where workers would drag themselves out of poverty by growing their own food, making their own clothes, and ultimately becoming self-governing. He tried to form such communities in [[Orbiston, Scotland]] and in [[New Harmony, Indiana]] in the [[United States|United States of America]], but both communities failed.

Similar early experiments were made in the early 19th century and by 1830 there were several hundred co-operatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/co-op02.html|work=Cotton Times, understanding the industrial revolution|title=Social strife: The birth of the co-op|page=2|author=Doug Peacock|access-date=2008-06-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725065418/http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/co-op02.html|archive-date=2008-07-25}}</ref> [[William King (doctor)|William King]] made Owen's ideas more workable and practical. He believed in starting small, and realized that the [[working class]]es would need to set up co-operatives for themselves, so he saw his role as one of instruction. He founded a monthly periodical called ''The Co-operator'',<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4mATAAAAQAAJ |title=The Co-operator |date=1828 |language=en}}</ref> the first edition of which appeared on 1 May 1828. It gave a mixture of co-operative philosophy and practical advice about running a shop using cooperative principles.

===Modern movement===
[[File:Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers 1865 photograph.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers]] was established in 1844 and defined the modern cooperative movement.]]
The first successful co-operative was the [[Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers]], established in England in 1844. This became the basis for the development and growth of the modern cooperative movement.<ref name=Thompson/> As the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution forced more skilled workers into poverty, these tradesmen decided to band together to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford.

With lessons from prior failed attempts at co-operation in mind, they designed the now-famous [[Rochdale Principles]], and over a period of four months they struggled to pool one [[pound sterling]] per person for a total of 28 pounds of capital. On December 21, 1844, they opened their store with a very meagre selection of butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and a few candles. Within three months, they expanded their selection to include tea and tobacco, and they were soon known for providing high quality, unadulterated goods.

The [[Co-operative Group]] formed gradually over 140 years from the merger of many independent retail societies, and their wholesale societies and federations. In 1863, twenty years after the [[Rochdale Pioneers]] opened their co-operative, the North of England Co-operative Society was launched by 300 individual co-ops across [[Yorkshire]] and [[Lancashire]]. By 1872, it had become known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS). Through the 20th century, smaller societies merged with CWS, such as the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society (1973) and the [[South Suburban Co-operative Society]] (1984).

==Governance and operation==
Consumer cooperatives utilize the cooperative principle of [[democratic member control (cooperatives)|democratic member control]], or one member/one vote. Most consumer cooperatives have a [[board of directors]] elected by and from the membership. The board is usually responsible for hiring management and ensuring that the cooperative meets its goals, both financial and otherwise. Democratic functions, such as petitioning or recall of board members, may be codified in the [[bylaws]] or organizing document of the cooperative. Most consumer cooperatives hold regular membership meetings (often once a year). As mutually owned businesses, each member of a society has a shareholding equal to the sum they paid in when they joined.

Large consumers' co-ops are run much like any other business and require workers, managers, clerks, products, and customers to keep the doors open and the business running. In smaller businesses the consumer/owners are often workers as well. Consumers' cooperatives can differ greatly in start up and also in how the co-op is run but to be true to the consumers' cooperative form of business the enterprise should follow the [[Rochdale Principles]].

==Finance and approach to capital accumulation==
The customers or consumers of the goods and services provided by a cooperative are often also the individuals who supply the capital necessary to establish or acquire the enterprise.

The primary distinction between consumer cooperatives and other forms of business is that a consumer cooperative aims to offer quality goods and services at the lowest possible cost to its consumer‑owners, rather than maximizing profits by charging the highest price the market will bear.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cooperative Principles and Patronage Dividend |url=https://cooperatives.extension.org/understanding-cooperative-terminology/ |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=National Cooperative Business Association}}</ref> In practice, consumer cooperatives typically set prices at competitive market rates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Terms in Cooperative Finance |url=https://cooperatives.extension.org/understanding-cooperative-terminology/ |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=National Cooperative Business Association}}</ref>

Unlike for-profit enterprises, which treat the margin between cost and selling price as profit for shareholders, consumer cooperatives may use this surplus to build collectively owned capital, support member-defined social objectives, or return the excess to consumer‑owners as a patronage refund or dividend.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Subchapter T and How Money Flows Through a Cooperative |url=https://co-oplaw.org/knowledge-base/patronage/ |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=Co‑opLaw.org}}</ref> Accumulated capital may be retained as reserves, reinvested in the cooperative’s growth, or used to acquire assets such as facilities or equipment.

While some claim that surplus payment returns to consumer/owner patrons should be taxed the same as dividends paid to corporate stock holders,<ref name=Time1944>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791772-2,00.html|magazine=Time|title=The Farmer Takes a Town|date=December 25, 1944|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930070045/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791772-2,00.html|archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> others argue that consumer cooperatives do not return a profit by traditional definition, and similar tax standards do not apply.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://fax.libs.uga.edu/hd2951xc776/co46/index.djvu?djvuopts&page=co46009.djvu|publisher=CO-OP Magazine|title=Attacks Splutter|date=January 1946|format=[[DjVu]]|page=17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718170635/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/hd2951xc776/co46/index.djvu?djvuopts&page=co46009.djvu|archive-date=2011-07-18}}</ref>

==Problems==
Since consumer cooperatives are run democratically, they are subject to the same problems typical of democratic government.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} Such difficulties can be mitigated by frequently providing member/owners with reliable educational materials regarding current business conditions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Problems of Cooperation |url=http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2965xW37/ |first=James Peter |last=Warbasse |year=1942 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520113118/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2965xW37 |archive-date=2008-05-20 }}</ref> In addition, because a consumer cooperative is owned by the users of a good or service as opposed to the producers of that good or service, the same sorts of labor issues may arise between the workers and the cooperative as would appear in any other company. This is one critique of consumer cooperatives in favor of [[worker cooperatives]].

==Pursuit of social goals==
[[File:1947 co-op magazine poster.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|January 1947 Co-op Magazine back cover designed as a promotional poster]]Many advocates of the formation of consumer cooperatives—from a variety of political perspectives—have seen them as integral to the achievement of wider social goals.

For example, the founding document of the [[Rochdale Pioneers]], who established one of the earliest consumer cooperatives in England in 1844, expressed a vision that went far beyond the simple shop with which they began:

{{quote|That as soon as practicable, this society shall proceed to arrange the powers of production, distribution, education, and government, or in other words to establish a selfsupporting home-colony of united interests, or assist other societies in establishing such colonies.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite journal |url=http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/2004-01-09/co-op-principles-then-and-now-part-2 |title=Co-op Principles: Then and Now |first=David |last=Thompson |journal=Cooperative Grocer |date=July–August 1994 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718162409/http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/2004-01-09/co-op-principles-then-and-now-part-2 |archive-date=2011-07-18 }}</ref>}}

[[Co-operative Federalism|Cooperative Federalists]], a term coined in the writings of [[Beatrice Webb]], advocated forming federations of consumer cooperatives as a means to achieve social reform. They believed such a development would bring benefits such as economic democracy and [[social justice|justice]], [[transparency (market)|transparency]], greater product purity, and financial benefits for consumers.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776/ |title=What Consumers' Cooperation does |journal=Cooperation |date=May 1934 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520110413/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776 |archive-date=2008-05-20 }}</ref>

==Examples==
{{anchor|Consumers' co-operatives in different countries}}

===Europe===

One of the world's largest consumer co-operative federations operates in the UK as [[The Co-operative brand|The Co-op]], which operates over 5,500 branches of 'Co-op' branded business including [[Co-op Food]] (the UK's sixth largest supermarket chain), [[Co-op Funeralcare]], [[The Co-operative Travel|Co-op Travel]], [[Co-op Legal Services]], and [[The Co-operative Electrical|Co-op Electrical]]. [[The Co-operative Group]] is by far the largest of these businesses, itself having over 4,500 outlets and operating the [[Co-operative Retail Trading Group|collective buying group]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thenews.coop/49090/news/general/view-top-300-co-operatives-around-world/ |title=View the top 300 co-operatives from around the world |date=4 February 2014 |access-date=2015-06-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517005458/http://www.thenews.coop/49090/news/general/view-top-300-co-operatives-around-world/ |archive-date=2015-05-17 }}</ref>

In [[Switzerland]], the two largest supermarket chains [[Coop (Switzerland)|Coop]] and [[Migros]] are both co-operatives and are among the country’s largest employers.

In [[Ireland]], the [[Dublin Food Coop]] has been in operation since 1983.

In [[Scandinavia]], the national cooperatives [[Coop NKL|Norway]], [[Kooperativa Förbundet|Sweden]], and [[Fællesforeningen for Danmarks Brugsforeninger|Denmark]] joined as [[Coop Norden]] in January 2002, but separated again in 2008.

In [[Italy]], the [[Coop Italia]] chain formed by many sub-cooperatives controlled 17.7% of the grocery market in 2005.

In [[Finland]], the [[S-Group|S Group]] is owned by 22 regional cooperatives and 19 local cooperative stores, which in turn are owned by their customers. In 2005 the S Group overtook its nearest rival [[Kesko|Kesko Oyj]] with a 36% share of retail grocery sales compared to Kesko's 28%.<ref>{{Cite book |date=October 2006 |title=Retailing in Finland |publisher=Euromonitor International |place=London, UK |url=http://www.euromonitor.com/Retailing_in_Finland |access-date=2007-06-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814121414/http://www.euromonitor.com/Retailing_in_Finland |archive-date=2007-08-14 }}</ref>

In [[France]], Coop Atlantique owns 7 hypermarkets, 39 supermarkets, and about 200 convenience stores.

In [[Germany]], the [[REWE|ReWe Group]] is a diversified holding company of consumer cooperatives that includes thousands of retail stores, discount stores, and tourism agencies. It ranks as the second largest supermarket chain in Germany and in the top ten cooperative groups in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2012/jan/04/social-enterprise-blog-co-operatives-and-mutuals |title=The world's biggest 300 co-operatives| website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=4 January 2012 }}</ref>

In Spain, [[Eroski]] is a supermarket chain within [[Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa]].
As a [[worker-consumer hybrid]], some of the personnel are hired workers and some are owner-workers.
The owners include workers and mere consumers, but buying is open to everybody.
It has franchises under the brand ''Aliprox'' not owned by Eroski but sharing its product range.
Its origin is in the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]].
In its process of expansion, it merged with the Valencia-based cooperative [[Consum]], but the merger dissolved in 2005.
It has expanded across Spain and entered France and Gibraltar.
After the [[Spanish crisis of 2008]], Eroski sold several of its supermarkets and hypermarkets.

===Australia===
[[The Co-op Bookshop]] sold textbooks both online and on university campuses. It also owned [[Australian Geographic]]. In 2020 its retail stores closed and its online store was sold to [[Booktopia]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bonyhady|first=Nick|date=2020-01-30|title=Co-op bookshop to disappear from university campuses|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/co-op-bookshop-to-disappear-from-university-shelves-20200130-p53w68.html|access-date=2020-08-30|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref>

The Wine Society (Australian Wine Consumers’ Co-operative Society Limited), established in 1946, now has more than 58,000 members. It sources and sells premium wines under the Society label, runs comprehensive wine education courses, and recognises excellence from young winemakers.

[[Bank Australia]] was formed in 2011 as the Members and Education Credit Union. It changed its name to Bank Australia in 2015. The bank is wholly owned by its customers, reported{{who|date=March 2022}} at 125,000 in 2012.

===Japan===
Japan has a large and well-developed consumer cooperative movement with more than 14 million members. Retail co-ops alone had a combined turnover of 2.5 trillion Yen (21 billion U.S. Dollars) in April, 2003.<ref name="jccu">Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union., 2003</ref> [[Co-op Kobe]] (コープこうべ) in [[Hyōgo Prefecture]] is the largest retail cooperative in Japan and, with more than 1.2 million members, is one of the largest cooperatives in the world. In addition to retail co-ops there are medical, housing, and insurance co-ops alongside institutional (workplace based) co-ops, co-ops for school teachers, and university-based co-ops.

Approximately one in five of all Japanese households belongs to a local retail co-op and 90% of all co-op members are women.<ref>Takamura, 1995</ref> Nearly six million households belong to one of the 1,788,000 [[Han groups]].<ref name="jccu" /> These consist of a group of five to ten members in a neighbourhood who place a combined weekly order which is then delivered by truck the following week. A strength of Japanese consumer co-ops in recent years has been the growth of [[community supported agriculture]] in which fresh produce is sent direct to consumers from producers without going through the market.

Some of co-op organisations, for example, in [[Tokyo]] metropolis and [[Kanagawa prefecture]], manage their local political parties from 1970's; generally names itself as the "Network Movement" ("Tokyo Seikatsusha (it means "Living Persons") Network",<ref>[http://www.seikatsusha.me/ Tokyo Seikatusha Network Official Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604041718/http://www.seikatsusha.me/ |date=2014-06-04 }} {{in lang|ja}}</ref> "Kanagawa Network Movement",<ref>[http://kanagawanet.org/ Kanagawa Network Movement Official Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517162621/http://kanagawanet.org/ |date=2014-05-17 }} {{in lang|ja}}</ref> and so on).{{clarify|reason=this sentence is confusing|date=March 2022}} They depend on consumers movement, feminism, regionalism, and prefer to anti-nuclear.{{clarify|reason=this sentence is confusing|date=March 2022}} These parties keep small but steady sections in prefecture and municipal assemblies.

===North America===
In the United States, the [[PCC Natural Markets|PCC (Puget Consumers Cooperative) Natural Markets]] in [[Seattle]] is the largest consumer-owned [[food cooperative]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cooperativegrocer.coop/coops/|title=Food Co-ops and Associates - Co-op Grocer Network|website=cooperativegrocer.coop|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615031941/http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/coops/|archive-date=15 June 2017}}</ref> The [[National Cooperative Grocers Association]] maintains a food cooperative directory.

Seattle-based [[R.E.I.]], which specializes in outdoor sporting equipment, is the largest consumer cooperative in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rei.com/about-rei/financial-information.html |title=REI: Financial Information &#124; REI Co-op |access-date=2014-09-02 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926023633/http://www.rei.com/about-rei/financial-information.html |archive-date=2014-09-26 }}; see: 2012 Audited Financial Statements, pg 13, sec 14</ref>

Outdoor retailer [[Mountain Equipment Co-op]] (MEC) in Canada was one of that country's major consumer cooperatives. In the [[Canadian Prairies|Canadian Prairie provinces]] as well as [[British Columbia]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bcca.coop/membership/member-category/consumer-co-op/|title=Consumer Co-op Archives - BC Coop Association|website=BC Coop Association|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012541/http://bcca.coop/membership/member-category/consumer-co-op/|archive-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> gas stations, lumberyards, and grocery stores can be found under the [[Federated Co-operatives|Co-Op brand]].

All [[credit union]]s in the United States and Canada are financial cooperatives.<ref>"The Credit Union Movement: Origins and Development 1850 to 1980" by J. Carroll Moody and [[Gilbert Fite]]</ref> [[Tim Worstall]] has called the [[The Vanguard Group|Vanguard Group]] a customer owned cooperative, since the owners of Vanguard funds are the funds' investors.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Worstall|first=Tim|title=Memo For Bernie: World's Second Largest Investor, Vanguard, Is Socialist|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/02/10/memo-for-bernie-worlds-second-largest-investor-vanguard-is-socialist/|access-date=2021-08-07|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref>

===Caribbean===
In [[Puerto Rico]], several [[Supermercados Fam Coop]] operate.

==See also==
*[[Food cooperative]], a supermarket owned and operated by its consumers.
*[[Copyleft]]
*[[GNU General Public License]]
*[[Health food store]]
*[[Healthcare in India#Co-operative Movement in Healthcare|Healthcare Co-operatives movement in India]]
*[[National Cooperative Business Association]]
*[[Open-source model|Open source]]
*[[Open-source hardware]]
*[[US Federation of Worker Cooperatives]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080520110413/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776 ''Co-operation 1921-1947''], published monthly by The [[Co-operative League of America]]. {{cbignore}} [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776 ''fully searchable original link''] 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080520113444/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD3486xH7 ''The History of Co-operation''], by [[George Jacob Holyoake]], 1908. {{cbignore}} [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD3486xH7 ''fully searchable original link'']
*[http://www.historians.org/projects/GIRoundtable/Coops/Coops_TOC.htm ''Why Co-ops? What Are They? How Do They Work?''] A pamphlet from the G.I. Roundtable series by Joseph G. Knapp, 1944
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090320165830/http://www.stoel.com/webfiles/lawofcooperatives.pdf ''Law of Cooperatives''], by Legal Firm Stoel Rives, Seattle

==External links==
* [http://www.coopseurope.coop/ Cooperatives Europe] – The common platform of ICA Europe and the [[Coordinating Committee of European Cooperative Associations]] (CCACE)
* [http://www.ica.coop/ International Co-operative Alliance]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110518180050/http://www.ica.coop/ccw/index.html Consumer Cooperatives Worldwide] (sector of ICA)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101215014808/http://www.cooperatives-uk.coop/ Co-operatives UK, the central organisation for all UK co-operative enterprises]
* [http://www.uk.coop The online database of UK Co-operatives]
* [http://www.icos.ie/ ICOS, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society]
* [https://digitaholics.de/ German technical consulting for optimization]
* [http://www.ica-group.org/  The ICA Group, technical advice for cooperative start-ups in the USA.]
* [http://jccu.coop/eng/ English website from the Japanese Consumer Co-operative Union.]
* [http://www.coopgalor.com A new approach to cooperative understanding]
* [http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/ University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives]
* [http://www.coopnetupdate.org/ Coopnet Update paper and event database]
* [http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/19/health.care.coop/index.html Dissecting Healthcare Co-op]
* [https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/cooperatives/documents/survey/background.pdf Background Paper on Co-operatives]
* [http://genos.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/genossenschaftswesen/Genos/consum.pdf Brazda&Schediwy (ed.) Comparative International Study, 1989]

{{Co-operatives |types}}
{{Consumer behaviour}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Consumers' Cooperative}}
[[Category:Consumers' cooperatives| ]]
[[Category:Business models]]