Carpet One Floor & Home co-founder Howard Brodsky helped bring the idea of a cooperative of flooring retailers to life over 30 years ago. Today, the cooperative is still going strong with the buying power of over 1,000 stores. Howard and co-CEO Rick Bennet are still going above and beyond to do their part helping other independent businesses and consumers understand the benefits of the cooperative business model.

The Cooperatives for a Better World initiative was launched in 2015 in collaboration with the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) to challenge the global community to elevate themselves and move beyond the inequalities of the twentieth century and into an era of innovation and sustainability through the cooperative business model. The goal is to secure a more equal, equitable and stronger future.

One of the key strategies of this initiative is educating cooperative members, their employees and customers. The initiative recognizes cooperative employees and members as the primary story tellers of the advantages cooperatives offer family businesses, entrepreneurs, consumers, and their shared communities.

“It is essential to highlight how cooperatives offer a positive difference with competitive pricing, support of their local communities and conducting business with integrity for their customers, employees, and members,” said Brodsky.

Carpet One Floor & Home will be the first to roll out new cooperative messaging in their stores this year.

“This is an opportunity for us to help other cooperatives as well as educate our own members and customers,” said Bennet. “We hope to share the materials we develop with other cooperatives throughout the world as an example of how to incorporate the cooperative message in a retail environment.”

Cooperatives for a Better World has already won the support of many large cooperatives in the United States such as Ace Hardware, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, and National Cooperative Bank. In addition, cooperatives, associations, and leaders from 15 other countries have committed to supporting the initiative in their own countries.

Materials such as signage, brochures and special cooperative logos will start appearing in Carpet One Floor & Home stores this spring, but the education of members and employees will start immediately.

For more information, please visit CooperativesforaBetterWorld.coop.

About Carpet One Floor & Home 
Carpet One Floor & Home is North America’s leading floor covering retailer, with 1,000 independently owned and operated locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.  Carpet One Floor & Home stores are known for a broad selection of carpet, wood, laminate, ceramic, vinyl, and area rugs, including exclusive brands like Bigelow and Lees. They offer a unique customer experience with the exclusive SelectAFloor merchandising system that simplifies the shopping experience and The Beautiful Guarantee^TM, which guarantees that the customer will be 100% happy with their floor. Carpet One Floor & Home is also the home of the exclusive Healthier Living Installation system.