Co-operatives are businesses owned and run by and for their members, whether they are customers, employees or residents. As well as giving members an equal say and share of the profits, co-operatives act together to build a better world through co-operation. There are 5,450 independent co-operative businesses in the UK which between them turnover £33 [...]

Co-operatives UK is supporting the Campaign on Sustainable Employment, a Europe-wide campaign by the co-operative sector to promote businesses that generate long-term wealth for communities. The campaign aims to show how worker co-operatives in Europe are addressing the fallout from the financial crisis, both in providing quality employment and providing an alternative to short-termism in [...]

As the priorities for the economy begin to broaden, the need is to deliver a sustainable and secure economy, capable of redressing the balance, of delivering an efficient welfare system amid reduced budgets, of being sustainable, secure and continuing to be a leader on the international stage. In the UK, there is a 97% survival rate of [...]

The Move Your Money campaign which, launched earlier this year, hopes that March will see people across the UK pledging to move their money to fairer and more local forms of banks. And in support of Move Your Money Month, Co-operatives UK is producing a short guide to moving current and savings accounts to co-operative [...]

The United Nations has designated 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives. From Argentina to Zambia, the 1.4 million co-operatives across the globe will be celebrating and showing how they build a better world. Global female co-operative leader, Dame Pauline Green, President of the International Co-operative Alliance, says the International Year is the perfect opportunity chance [...]

The 3rdi magazine is a member’s co-operative. But what does that actually mean in practice? Co-operatives as a business model are often misunderstood so I’d like to explain some of the myths surrounding them and increase your understanding as to how this can be an excellent alternative business model. I work as a consultant for [...]

HOMETRUTHS has registered with the Natwest CommunityForce website. With your support HOMETRUTHS could gain an award of £6,000 to help fund our work with survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Please log on to www.natwest.com/communityforce and register to vote. Once you have registered, please log in and search for HOMETRUTHS. Your vote will make all [...]

HOMETRUTHS – Unlocking the Truth on Domestic Abuse www.hometruths.coop “Seven years ago I met a man who said he would die for me. Six years ago he said that he would die without me. Most days since then he has told me, in detail, how he would kill me if I ever left him….. I [...]

There is not one single model that represents all co-operatives. They can be set up in different ways depending upon what works for the members. There are, however, common themes that make co-operatives particularly  attractive to women. Co-operatives are all based around the principal of collaboration and on the firm democratic principal of one member [...]

The launch of the Co-operative Womens Challenge 2020 took place in Leeds on July 2nd. I went along to cover the launch for the magazine and while I had been looking forward to it, it was with heavy heart that I dragged myself into the venue and out of the cloudless blue sky and warmth [...]

Women co-operators have always engaged in political action, campaigning early in the 19th & 20th centuries for the vote, for maternity benefits, milk for school-children, divorce law reform, a minimum wage; and initiating the white poppies peace campaign. This year we celebrated the 100th International Women’s Day, and that led me to thinking about the [...]

A co-operative is a proper business. It is worth stating again. A co-operative is a proper business established to make profits, like any other business. In launching the3rdi magazine as a co-operative I have been surprised at the ignorance and misunderstanding that surrounds the co-operative business model. So while I generally dislike defining things in [...]

Leading players in Scotland’s digital media and television industries have collaborated with help from Co+operative Development Scotland (CDS) to form a new consortium agency producing cutting-edge broadcast and internet content. Yellow Brick House Media is a consortium co-operative of four businesses specialising in new media content and marketing, television production, web development and graphic design. [...]

The Heart of Argyll Tourism Alliance has been set up with support from Co+operative Development Scotland (CDS) to boost tourism to Mid Argyll. As an open membership co-operative, anyone can join, ensuring the local industry is widely represented. Loosely bounded by Ardfern, Inveraray, Tarbert and the Sound of Jura on Scotland’s west coast, Mid Argyll [...]

Forming a consortium co-operative with help from Co+operative Development Scotland (CDS) has allowed the artists behind Such and Such to increase their visibility and earning potential by sharing premises, equipment and marketing opportunities. Such and Such is a consortium of four Edinburgh-based artists specialising in jewellery design, animation and illustration. The members launched the co-operative [...]

Firstly I would like to define and clarify the terms: Collaboration means to work with another or others on a joint project Competition means a rivalry between two or more businesses striving for the same customer or market. So, on the face of it, the two seem mutually exclusive. One focuses on working together, the [...]

Photo: Left to Right – Kenny Kemp, Vicky Masterson, Liz Taylor, Ruth Webber, Stewart McIntosh, Ian Spinney Collaboration is part of our daily lives, whether it’s agreeing with a partner who is cooking dinner or making informal child-care arrangements with friends. It is also becoming increasingly important in a business context. The word “co-operative” usually [...]

If you met me on the street and asked me what Ethics Girls is all about I would normally say Ethics Girls is an ethical company. That seems fairly obvious as we sell & promote ethical fashion. But after reading The Observer’s Good Company Guide last week, I have decided to go for a new [...]

Scottish Organic Milk is a marketing co-operative of local dairy farmers who manage the supply of organic milk in Scotland right through from the cow to the consumer. Scottish Organic Milk is a marketing co-operative, founded in 2003 by a group of farmers, to help promote Scottish organic milk. The co-operative currently has around 30 [...]

A short time ago I was asked to participate in a series of interviews the aim of which was to examine women’s understanding of the role they play within the co-operative movement and any issues they perceive are still present for women today. The paper, which can be dowloaded in full at the end of [...]