Coop: uniform prices

Switzerland appear to be a paradise for responsible consumers. The two largest supermarket chains, Migros and Coop, both carry a broad range of ecological and socially responsible products. The margins are higher on their organic product lines compared to the conventional products. Coop also sells clothes. Since 1992 the company has been introducing a greater selection of organic alternatives under its own brand ‘Coop Natura’. But it has kept the prices of its organic cotton socks and underwear the same as for non-organic items to reach a wider group of consumers.

Now Coop has introduced additional clothing items at prices that range from five to 20 per cent higher than conventional clothes. All its baby clothes are made from organic materials. The organic clothes currently account for one-third of the chain’s total clothing and textile turnover.

The cotton is all grown in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh by a cooperative of organic cotton farmers called Maikaal. It started out with a handful of farmers on 2.5 hectares and has since expanded to 1,000 farmers farming 7,000 hectares of land.