REI Co-op

consumer cooperative

REI Co-op

Industry Retail

A consumer co-op selling outdoor gear and apparel, with member-elected directors but limited worker control and a conventional large-retail labor footprint. REI Co-op lands in the middle because ownership is comparatively aligned and the model leaves more value with stakeholders, but toxic or materially harmful products prevents a stronger rating.

Why this matters: Consumer ownership is a constraint, but it is not the same as labor sovereignty.

Letter grade C Performative Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1

Final Score 38* C - Performative
CPERFORMATIVE38 tentative score pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material39
Bonus+0
Cap66No structure cap
After Cap39
Penalties-1
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Evaluation Overview

C - Performative

The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from Toxic Products.

Strengths

  • Ownership6/10
  • Extraction6/10
  • Governance5/10

Penalties

  • Toxic Products-1

Evidence state

  • ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
  • ThoroughnessPartial (AI)
  • Linked claims10
  • Direct axis claims10
  • Coverage10/10

Scoring Axes
Axis Score Why this score
Ownership
?
Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.
6 / 10

REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 125 scored entries below, 20 tied, 81 above on Ownership.

Linked evidence
  • REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
Governance
?
Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.
5 / 10

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 127 scored entries below, 20 tied, 79 above on Governance.

Linked evidence
  • REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
Extraction
?
Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.
6 / 10

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 115 scored entries below, 24 tied, 87 above on Extraction.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI describes itself as a consumer cooperative with more than 25 million members, which reduces ordinary outside-shareholder extraction but still leaves a retail membership model rather than worker ownership. [3]
Labor Sovereignty
?
Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.
4 / 7

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 112 scored entries below, 39 tied, 75 above on Labor Sovereignty.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI’s cooperative identity centers consumer members, while public about and membership materials do not establish worker control over labor conditions or governance. [4]
Solidarity with the Unemployed
?
Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.
3 / 7

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 81 scored entries below, 45 tied, 100 above on Solidarity with the Unemployed.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI frames its mission around broad access to the outdoors and member benefits, but the model provides only limited direct support for people outside employment or purchasing power. [5]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity
?
Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.
4 / 7

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 88 scored entries below, 30 tied, 108 above on Loss-Bearing Fidelity.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI’s cooperative form and stewardship reporting show some commitment to members, employees, communities, and outdoor access, but the record remains mixed because the model is still retail-scale commerce. [6]
Market Conduct
?
Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.
4 / 5

REI member materials describe lifetime membership benefits, special pricing, and annual member rewards, supporting some consumer-cooperative market restraint while remaining retail-consumption oriented.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 106 scored entries below, 73 tied, 47 above on Market Conduct.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI member materials describe lifetime membership benefits, special pricing, and annual member rewards, supporting some consumer-cooperative market restraint while remaining retail-consumption oriented. [7]
Product Integrity
?
Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.
4 / 5

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 61 scored entries below, 72 tied, 93 above on Product Integrity.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI operates outdoor retail, gear testing, stewardship, and member services around practical outdoor access, making the core offering materially useful even when retail consumption creates tradeoffs. [8]
Scale Integrity
?
Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.
3 / 5

The linked record identifies REI as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 50 scored entries below, 58 tied, 118 above on Scale Integrity.

Linked evidence
  • context REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections. [2]
  • context REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership. [1]
  • REI reports more than 25 million members and national retail scale, showing cooperative reach but also making member accountability and labor treatment harder to verify at scale. [9]

Penalties
Penalty Applied Why this penalty
Toxic Products
?
Current sale of products whose ordinary use, exposure, ingredients, residues, packaging, or formulation creates toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety risk. Food products receive at least light scrutiny for artificial colors, artificial flavors, petro-derived additives, pesticide residues, contaminants, endocrine-disrupting packaging, and ultra-processed formulation. Ordinary adult nightlife or alcohol service is not penalized by itself without evidence of predatory marketing, youth targeting, addiction-extractive design, or unusual product-safety misconduct. Range: -5 to 0.
-1

REI Co-op currently operates broad outdoor retail channels where product screening includes treated gear and other high-risk consumer categories; the product category creates ordinary…

Calibration notes

Comparative anchor: Column-spectrum position: 24 scored entries below, 14 tied, 188 above on Toxic Products.

Linked evidence
  • REI Co-op currently operates broad outdoor retail channels where product screening includes treated gear and other high-risk consumer categories; the product category creates ordinary toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety exposure under the directory's toxic-products screen. [10]

Bonus Credits

No bonus credits applied in this version.

Confidence Basis

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 78/100

10 verified linked claims 10 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 10/10 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 13/20

10 verified linked claims

Source quality 12/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 14/18

10 direct claims across 10 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 10/10

10/10 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending
VerificationUnverified
ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessPartial (AI)
Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.
Company responseCompany representatives can submit source-backed corrections; payment never changes scores or reviewer authority.

Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.
1REI presents membership as consumer cooperative participation rather than worker ownership.

Ownership Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

2REI describes itself as a co-op with member participation and board elections.

Governance Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

3REI describes itself as a consumer cooperative with more than 25 million members, which reduces ordinary outside-shareholder extraction but still leaves a retail membership model rather than worker ownership.

Extraction Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

4REI’s cooperative identity centers consumer members, while public about and membership materials do not establish worker control over labor conditions or governance.

Labor Sovereignty Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

5REI frames its mission around broad access to the outdoors and member benefits, but the model provides only limited direct support for people outside employment or purchasing power.

Solidarity Unemployed Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

6REI’s cooperative form and stewardship reporting show some commitment to members, employees, communities, and outdoor access, but the record remains mixed because the model is still retail-scale commerce.

Loss Bearing Fidelity Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

7REI member materials describe lifetime membership benefits, special pricing, and annual member rewards, supporting some consumer-cooperative market restraint while remaining retail-consumption oriented.

Market Conduct Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

8REI operates outdoor retail, gear testing, stewardship, and member services around practical outdoor access, making the core offering materially useful even when retail consumption creates tradeoffs.

Product Integrity Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

9REI reports more than 25 million members and national retail scale, showing cooperative reach but also making member accountability and labor treatment harder to verify at scale.

Scale Integrity Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed

10REI Co-op currently operates broad outdoor retail channels where product screening includes treated gear and other high-risk consumer categories; the product category creates ordinary toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety exposure under the directory's toxic-products screen.

Toxic Products Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending

AI scaffold

Alternatives

BQUALIFIED44 tentative score Ace Hardware retailer-owned hardware cooperative · same market BQUALIFIED43 tentative score Do it Best member-owned hardware cooperative · same market BQUALIFIED42 tentative score Dr. Bronner's private benefit corporation · same market BQUALIFIED47 tentative score John Lewis Partnership employee-owned retailer · United Kingdom BQUALIFIED45 tentative score Second Use Building Materials employee-owned building-material salvage business · Washington, Pacific Northwest

Competitors

BQUALIFIED44 tentative score Ace Hardware retailer-owned hardware cooperative · same market BQUALIFIED43 tentative score Do it Best member-owned hardware cooperative · same market BQUALIFIED42 tentative score Dr. Bronner's private benefit corporation · same market CPERFORMATIVE41 tentative score Patagonia private company · same market CPERFORMATIVE37 tentative score Taylor Guitars private instrument maker · same market DEXTRACTIVE34 tentative score Framework Computer private repairable-electronics company · same market DEXTRACTIVE34 tentative score Grove Collaborative public benefit household-products company · same market DEXTRACTIVE31 tentative score Costco public company · same market

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Submit source-backed evidence or challenge a specific claim, source, axis value, or calculation below.

How This Page Is Maintained

Evidence comes in through contributors, is checked by verifiers, and is synthesized by reviewers. Founder authority remains narrow and visible; scores recalculate when verified claims or the rubric change.

Civic Note

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Audit Log

Recent public changes for this company or group. The full audit log is part of the Transparency record.

ai-scaffolding toxic-products-assessment

Added tentative AI-generated Toxic Products penalty -1 and directory value for current toxic, addictive, pesticide, livestock, chemical, or consumer-safety product exposure.

ai_scaffolding score

Published tentative AI-generated scaffolding score 39 for initial human review under gcd-rubric-v1.

View Full Audit Log