Coopetition

At the RRU Earth Days trade show, I spoke to a man who was representing the The Green Collective: a collective of ten Victoria businesses who have sustainability in common. He told me that although they are competitors in the "niche" market of environmentally friendly products, they support each other because they see the environment as just as important as their businesses. In this sense, as cooperative competitors, they practice "coopetition." This little idea spoke to me because I've always been one of those people who would prefer it if everyone could win, no one got left out and people with good ideas were listened to. When I worked in retail (shhhh, don't tell my old boss!) I would inform customers if there was a sale on at another store, or tell them to go to the store with a superior product...no wonder I never made much in commission! As a consumer, I want businesses to be frank, open and honest about what I am purchasing, and if something better exists, I want to know. The guy at the trade show, whose name I can't remember, said the same thing: if one of his customers asks for something that he can't provide, he will refer them to one of his coopetitors. It's a win-win situation, because he has actually provided the customer with something, honesty. I know for myself that this small action would keep me coming back to his store. I respect integrity, and will give him my business in the future.

Oct. 2, 2003, is a memorable date for me...it was the last time I shopped at Wal-Mart. I had been wanting to quit for awhile, but the universe kept pulling me back into a cycle of convenience and apathy. I don't remember if I consciously said, "this is it, the last time I'll shop at Wal-Mart," but at some point I had committed myself to breaking the cycle. In the long run, it's a pretty tiny, unimportant act of consciousness, that will probably have no affect to anyone, including Wal-Mart, except to myself. But it is something, and something that once started isn't all that difficult to maintain...actually, I've never once had to talk myself down from a remission. And, secretly I'm really proud of myself. Just like I'm proud that I have never used a takeout coffee cup from the Habitat...a commitment that only means something to me, but for me it is a statement of sustainability.

I can't imagine that the Green Collective and Wal-Mart have much in common, but they come together in my mind as two ends of a spectrum of sustainability. One the one side, the Green Collective is ten small, local shops that source local products and care about the environment. On the other side, Wal-Mart is a multinational corporation that sells cheap products, made far away, that will need to be replaced in not so long. I choose the Green Collective because there are faces to the businesses, and they are people trying to do a good thing and make a living while they are at it.