Right Livelihood gave its award to the Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Cooperative in 1989  “For creating the most successful, sustainable model of production and consumption in the industrialised world.”

The Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Cooperative (SCCC) of Japan 

The Club is a unique organisation combining business and production with strict social and ecological principles and a vision of a community- and people-centred economy. Thus, it provides a radical alternative to both socialist and capitalist industrialisation.

As a business enterprise, SCCC wants “safe food at reasonable prices.” To achieve this, it decides the specifications for food and other consumer goods in cooperation with the producers and purchases them by pre-ordering. This pre-order collective purchase system enables producers to plan in advance and guarantee product freshness. Much emphasis is placed on direct contact between producers and consumers to humanise the market, especially in the area of food production, where consumers regularly visit farmers to observe production methods and to lend a hand.

The Club promotes self-sufficiency in food and the sustainability of local agriculture. It also aims to diversify working opportunities for women and has committed itself to exploring options for a people-oriented welfare system.