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38 Collective Business Ventures

From Community Solar Bonds to Fair Trade Shea Butter

— May 31, 2012 — Social Good
Whether it's collective business ventures or co-operative worker networks, this SocialBusiness.org top list shows that there's success within the group. At the end of last year, we featured a slightly similar piece that explored creative worker co-operatives from all around the world.

This one features not only worker co-operatives themselves, but also those businesses that work closely with co-operatives in order to produce the products that they sell or perhaps the material resources that they need in order to produce their products.

Many companies tend to brand themselves as a "collective" without in fact possessing any of the co-operative enterprise characteristics like co-owning and sharing. It seems that collective has become in the social business world a buzzword that perhaps has more meaning than many companies let on. What do you consider a collective? What kind of attributes do they need to have?
6.3
Score
Popularity
Activity
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38
Acupuncture Cooperatives
Acupuncture Cooperatives
POCA Aims to Provide Affordable and High Quality Treatment
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37
Affordable Alternative Medicine
Affordable Alternative Medicine
Nelson Community Acupuncture Brings Simplicity to the Public
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36
Safe Neon Clothing
Safe Neon Clothing
BrightKidz is a Social Enterprise That Sells High Visibility Designs
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35
Nocturnal Sustainable Power Plants
Nocturnal Sustainable Power Plants
The Gemasolar Solar Plant Works Through the Night
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34
Community Solar Bonds
Community Solar Bonds
SolarShare Co-op Offers Impact Investors Triple Bottom Line Benefits
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33
Sustainable Society Cooperatives
Sustainable Society Cooperatives
The Zebra Collective is a Social Enterprise Supporting Workers
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32
Sustainable Supermarket Produce
Sustainable Supermarket Produce
Food From the Sky's Rooftop Garden Provides Store Veggies
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31
Coffee Connection Sites
Coffee Connection Sites
Coffee CSA Lets You Connect with and Buy from Java Farmers Worldwide
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30
Job-Creating Bike Shops
Job-Creating Bike Shops
Cycle Salvation Trains and Employs the Economically Disadvantaged
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29
Creating Community Bonds
Creating Community Bonds
CSI's Tonya Surman Addresses the 2011 Social Finance Forum
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28
Anti-Mafia Co-Operative Products
Anti-Mafia Co-Operative Products
The Ethicando Store in Paris Stocks Fairtrade Food and Designs
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27
Job-Creating Cleansers
Job-Creating Cleansers
Co-Soap is a Worker Cooperative Using Cosmetics for Good
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26
Vegan Fair Trade Ventures
Vegan Fair Trade Ventures
Autonomie Project is Fashion That Doesn't Hurt the Wallet or the Planet
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25
Wasted Apple Beverages
Wasted Apple Beverages
Batlow Premium Cider Stems from the Australian Co-Operative
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24
Discounted Organic Food Collectives
Discounted Organic Food Collectives
The Green Polkadot Box Provides Healthy Food for Cheap
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23
Anti-Sweatshop Apparel
Anti-Sweatshop Apparel
The 'Autonomie Project' Offers Competitively Priced and Fashionable Clothes
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22
CSA Gives You Piece of the Pie (er Sheep)
CSA Gives You Piece of the Pie (er Sheep)
MVKnits Wool Shares
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21
Fair Trade African Soda
Fair Trade African Soda
Ubuntu Cola is a First for the United Kingdom
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20
Healthy Super Chocolate
Healthy Super Chocolate
Xocai
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19
Edible Postcards
Edible Postcards
Made of Dried Sushi
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18
Upcycled Train Stations
Upcycled Train Stations
El Galpon is an Organic, Fair-Trade Market Made out of a Transit Depot
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17
Socially Conscious Sheets
Socially Conscious Sheets
Mary Hark Leads an Eco-Friendly Paper-Making Venture in Ghana
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16
Opportunity-Generating Accessories
Opportunity-Generating Accessories
'Hands Up Not Handouts' Uses Business for Positive Change
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15
Fair Trade Shea Butter
Fair Trade Shea Butter
Delapointe's Products are Made by Women in Burkina Faso
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14
Ethical Quinoa Vodka
Ethical Quinoa Vodka
FAIR. is the World's First Fair Trade Certified Spirits Brand
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13
Charitable Animal Sculptures
Charitable Animal Sculptures
The Bundu Designs Rhinos are Made from Wire
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12
Fair Trade Cocoa
Fair Trade Cocoa
Divine Chocolate is a Social Business Partly Owned by Its Farmers
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11
Female-Owned Design Studios
Female-Owned Design Studios
'Creative Women' Supports Economic Independence in the Majority World
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10
Co-Op Cacoa
Co-Op Cacoa
Kallari Chocolate Bars Support 850 Families and the Rainforest
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9
Mountain Bike Monuments
Mountain Bike Monuments
The 'Cyclisk' Bike Obelisk in Santa Rosa is a Shrine to Recycling
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8
Edgy Fashion Co-Ops
Edgy Fashion Co-Ops
Fair Trade 'Of Rags' Combines NYC Style with Ghanaian Fashion
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7
Illegal City Bees
Illegal City Bees
New York City's Gotham City Honey Co-Op Can't Sell Honey
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6
Cosmetic Cooperatives
Cosmetic Cooperatives
Arghand Sources Soap and Skincare Materials from Kandahar, Afghanistan
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5
Bicycle-Built Cycle Sculptures
Bicycle-Built Cycle Sculptures
The 2010 Sydney Art & About Festival Features the ‘Bike Bike'
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4
Fashionable Fair Trade Apparel (UPDATE)
Fashionable Fair Trade Apparel (UPDATE)
Indego Africa Gives Artisans a Protected Place to Create
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3
Sustainable Wood Jewelry
Sustainable Wood Jewelry
Via Nativa's Eco-Fabulous Jewelry is Wonderfully Wooden
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2
Organic Shoes by Veja
Organic Shoes by Veja
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1
Co-Operative Brothels
Co-Operative Brothels
'The Brothel Project' Looks to Start First Ever Legalized Brothel in Canada
<