Seikatsu Consumer Coop

That concern for quality quickly morphed into concern for the environmental and social impacts of the production process that resulted in the mass mobilization for local laws limiting the use of synthetic detergents, opposition to genetically modified food and one of the first returnable/reuse/recycling systems in Japan. [...] The key to neighbourhood level organizing is the Han System, as it provides the foundation upon which the federated model of the SCC is based. [...] It is through conversations at the Han level where it is established what products to order, the amount and these conversations provide the opportunity for consumers to intervene in the market through sharing knowledge and approaches to household management and through engagement in local politics. [...] The Each individual local SCC is independent and autonomous from the SCC Union and the relationship between individual SCCs and the Union are of a horizontal rather than pyramid-type nature. [...] Producers are engaged through the commitment of the SCC to pre-ordering which minimizes the risks to producers in terms of investments in improving agricultural and production processes and guaranteed prices based on full disclosure of production practices, quality of products, storage and distribution methods, etc based on mutual agreement between SCC union and producers.