ethical junction

Ethical and Environmental Policy

We are a workers' co-operative - the business is owned & managed collectively by the workers. Everyone is on the same pro-rata wage.

We are not for profit - any surplus made by the shop stays within the business. No individual or other organisation benefits from the profit - workers only receive wages.

We priorities stocking books that promote ethical and sustainable ways of life, that challenge war, racism, sexism, homophobia, and other oppressions, and that empower people and communities. Conversely, we would refuse to stock any literature that was racist, sexist, etc etc. We provide an outlet for alternative media, and have a free community noticeboard.

We try to use ethical / fair-trade suppliers for our non-book stock - gift items etc, although this is not 100%.

We reuse envelopes & packaging materials, we only provide reused carrier bags for customers, and we recycle paper and cardboard (which makes up the bulk of our waste). We try to purchase recycled or otherwise environmentally-friendly stationery and other business supplies wherever possible. We provide fair-trade tea & coffee for ourselves & for customers. We try to use local shops for food, cleaning supplies etc (Unfortunately we haven't eliminated using supermarkets completely) .

Our main ethical stance is through the way our business is structured (operating as a co-operative) and through the kind of books & magazines we specialise in. The other kinds of ethical/sustainable practice sort of follow through unconsciously to some extent, and not always consistently. We don't currently have an official ethical sourcing policy for stock/other supplies, but this is something I am planning to propose at some point.

I am not sure how to classify the percentage of our turnover is represented by ethical & environmentally friendly products, services & operations - it is a total guess! For instance we sell lots of books on ethical/sustainable issues, but also many books that are just fun, unpolitical etc. We have almost no idea at all about whether the books we stock are sustainably produced. As a co-operative we operate solely for the benefit of the community. We think ethically/sustainably in many ways, but are just as much unthinking slaves to cost/convenience in others.