Case Studies

Members of Aberdeen P&P bag up veggies for their Veg Bag Scheme

Case Study: St. Andrews One World Co-op

Motivated by a desire to provide good value, fairly-traded goods to students, members of the St. Andrews ‘One World’ Society have established a cooperative to use the power of buying in bulk to lower costs and provide an easy way for students to buy ethically.

Their not-for-profit system means that they can cut out the middleman by buying goods at wholesale prices from a supplier of organic, Fairtrade and vegan goods; then selling them onto students with no mark-up.

The society provides a range of staple foods; rice, pasta, tea, coffee, and chocolate, as well as environmentally-friendly cleaning products. Other goods can be ordered from the co-op’s suppliers by request. Students can then place orders by email or through a cunning e-commerce system on their website. Campus events also provide an opportunity to sell their goods and to raise awareness about the co-op.

Visit their online ethical store for inspiration.

Case Study: University of Bath - The Veg Co-op

The Vegetarian Society at Bath set up a Veg Co-op - a local and organic fruit and vegetable scheme for buying locally from farmers and selling to students and staff on a No Profit No Loss basis. The Society distribute orders outside the Library from 12–3pm once a week, to customers who pay in advance either at the stand, in the SU shop or at the AWARE (Welfare) Centre.

Email the Veg Soc for more information.