Co-operative

A cooperative (also coöperative or co-operative or co-op) has been defined in the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Statement on the Co-operative Identity as "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise." A simpler definition of a cooperative can be defined as a business owned by the people who use its services. They "are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others." Such enterprises are the focus of study in the field of Co-operative economics. Cooperatives also have a sponsored top level domain .coop, which informs users that they are dealing with a co-op.

Related wikipedia content

 * Co-operatives
 * List of cooperatives
 * Credit Unions

UK links

 * Radical Routes
 * Co-op online