2025 has been declared as the International Year of Cooperatives, recognising the role that cooperatives play in creating a better world.
In fact, a new report has found that the UK’s 9.500+ co-ops and mutuals are ‘punching well above their weight’, generating £35 billion in direct gross value added (GVA) and £93billion in total economic impact, supporting more than 1.5% of the UK economy, despite making up just 0.2% of businesses.
The report shows that co-ops bring additional benefits in the form of Greater productivity, fairer pay, community wealth and key contributions to decarbonisation and wellbeing goals.
As proud members of the cooperative movement since our very beginnings, we wanted to share the top five reasons Stitched Up is a cooperative.
1 // Cooperative values = a world we want to live in
The co-operative movement is based on values that represent a world that we want to live in!
Self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.
Cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.
2 // Ownership and accountability
There are seven cooperative principles that all coops abide by. One of those principles is that coops are owned and controlled by their members, with each member given an equal say in how the coop is run and how profits are distributed. At Stitched Up, our members gather for a meeting each year to approve the use of any profits. Any member of our community who is over the age of 18 can become a member. This means we are kept accountable to our community.
3 // Proudly independent
Coops are independent businesses. We don’t have anyone in a position of power telling us what to do, or taking all the profits for their own fat bonuses.
This means that we focus on the work that needs to be done, taking only what we need in order to continue – and reinvesting the rest for the benefit of the community.
4 // Equal contributions, equal pay
Our team work for equal pay, and we all take an equal share of the more mundane tasks as well as the fun ones! The people who do the cleaning, answer your emails and post on our social media channels, are the same people teaching classes, running projects and steering the business.
5 // Making alternatives a reality
We think cooperatives are a great way to make alternative futures a reality, today! Though we welcome them, we aren’t sitting around waiting for big changes from governments or corporations. We’re taking action, working together side-by-side to make great things happen.
If you want to find out more about how cooperation sits at the heart of our work in reimagining a different future for fashion, you can see our exhibit, Clothing and Cooperation: the Power of Repair, at the Rochdale Pioneers Museum until next month.
Solidarity to all our fellow coops – happy International Year of Cooperatives!
Stitched Up x
