{"id":5027,"date":"2009-10-15T20:18:57","date_gmt":"2009-10-16T02:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=5027"},"modified":"2009-10-15T20:18:57","modified_gmt":"2009-10-16T02:18:57","slug":"the-cooperative-economy-reis-commitment-to-serving-the-planets-stewards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-cooperative-economy-reis-commitment-to-serving-the-planets-stewards\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cooperative Economy: REI\u2019s Commitment to Serving the Planet\u2019s Stewards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/10\/rei-actionphoto.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5030\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/10\/rei-actionphoto-300x74.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"74\" \/><\/a>I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m getting fed up with buying things that break or wear out way before they should.<span> <\/span>Warranties \u2013 from both manufacturers and retailers &#8212; seem to be getting shorter and more limited than ever, as if durability is an afterthought.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">But I don\u2019t want to support the landfill economy.<span> <\/span>I want to support the restoration economy and, when I need to purchase things, support companies that care about the planet the way I do.<span> <\/span>Some of these companies break from this planned obsolescence mentality and profit obsession, companies like REI, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rei.com\">Recreation Equipment, Inc.<\/a>, where your love of the outdoors actually pays dividends to you, as a customer-member of the cooperative enterprise.<span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">REI, the nation\u2019s largest consumer cooperative, got its start in 1938 when a bunch of climbing buddies got together to buy some gear to explore the great outdoors.<span> <\/span>They support people, their community and the environment on which their enterprise is based.<span> <\/span>And they guarantee that their products last and perform as expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">A couple years ago, for example, I purchased a pair of sandals from REI.\u00a0 After limited use, my sandals had an ankle strap that broke.<span> <\/span>The brand is well known and adventure proven: Teva.<span> <\/span>Since I live in a four-season climate, they should have lasted longer than they did.<span> <\/span>Walking into the REI retail store in a much older pair of Tevas I wore when traveling to South America, I talked briefly with a salesperson in REI shoe department who found a replacement pair of a different model for me in minutes.<span> <\/span>No hassle.<span> <\/span>No runaround.<span> <\/span>Try that at a big box retailer or chain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The Cooperative ECOnomy<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">As I write about in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecopreneuring.biz\">ECOpreneuring<\/a>, ECOnomics involves operating in more than the free market economy, the one we commonly think about when buying or selling goods or services. Often depending on their scale, many ecopreneurs, and the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2008\/06\/04\/why-are-people-called-consumers\/\">conserving customers<\/a>\u201d who support them &#8212; thrive in economies other than those purely based on cash.<span> <\/span>Such economies include the barter, household, free exchange (i.e., free cycling), and cooperative economies.<span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">REI is among the largest and most well respected of the retail cooperatives.<span> <\/span>My family and I are among the more than 3 million members of REI, a cooperative where every time we purchase a tent, sleeping bag, or pair of sandals (or any of the other outdoor clothing and gear they offer), we typically receive about 10 percent back as a member annual refund.<span> <\/span>Lifetime membership is $20.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">My family is also a member of more than six cooperatively owned businesses, including the nation\u2019s largest retail food cooperative, Willy Street Cooperative in Madison, a regional sustainable forestry cooperative, Kickapoo Woods Cooperative, and a community land trust, the Mississippi Valley Conservancy. Common ownership in these mission-driven organizations offer opportunities for us to better steward resources and work together to achieve collective goals, accomplishing more as a group than we could as individuals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">According to REI, their core purpose is to inspire, educate and outfit people for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship.<span> <\/span>They define stewardship as getting people outside to lead healthy active lives, care for our planet by protecting shared natural spaces, and engage others in making a difference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/10\/ss5796_eco_logo.gif\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5029\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/10\/ss5796_eco_logo.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>Besides REI\u2019s personable customer service and 100 percent guarantee for their products, they are also striving for continuous innovation in the products they sell<span> <\/span>by recognizing those that have a high percentage of recycled, rapidly renewable and\/or organic fibers with their REI ecoSensitive label.<span> <\/span>Talk about transparency.<span> <\/span>Some of the labels explain both the advantages and shortcomings of the products themselves.<span> <\/span>As a company committed to the <a href=\"http:\/\/ecopreneurist.com\/2008\/10\/01\/triple-bottom-line-making-the-planet-a-better-place-for-all-life\/\">triple bottom line<\/a>, REI also strives for fair trade through audits of factories where both REI-branded and non-REI-branded products are made while working with the outdoor industry on well-defined compliance standards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">It\u2019s why I boycott Walmart and remain steadfastly committed to REI (and others like them), a company more interested in keeping me hiking on a trail in my sandals than just selling more stuff to make more money for their shareholders.<span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Interestingly, despite the downturn in the economy, in 2008, REI paid the highest dividend in their history: $73 million to their members.<span> <\/span>I\u2019m proud to be one of them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Photography:<span> <\/span>Courtesy of REI<\/p>\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m getting fed up with buying things that break or wear out way before they should. Warranties \u2013 from both manufacturers and retailers &#8212;&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":5030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4032,621,297,62,249,2104,4033,4034,2022],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Cooperative Economy: REI\u2019s Commitment to Serving the Planet\u2019s Stewards &#8226; Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-cooperative-economy-reis-commitment-to-serving-the-planets-stewards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cooperative Economy: REI\u2019s Commitment to Serving the Planet\u2019s Stewards &#8226; Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m getting fed up with buying things that break or wear out way before they should. 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