worker cooperative wholesaler
Suma Wholefoods
Industry Food
A worker cooperative wholesaler distributing vegetarian, natural, and ethical goods, with equal pay, collective management, and scale discipline. Suma Wholefoods scores well because ownership is comparatively aligned and governance has stronger accountability than peers, though toxic or materially harmful products still limit the evaluation.
Why this matters: Large worker co-ops can test whether democratic structure survives operational scale.
Letter grade A Good High confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1
Final Score
59* A - Good
A* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.
Vegetarian badge
The current public description presents this as vegetarian. The badge is informational; it does not erase labor, ownership, toxicity, price, or governance concerns.
Evidence: [11]
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Request verification to have the evidence record checked against primary materials and organization-supplied documents. Verification does not buy a higher score; scores change only when review finds factual errors, omissions, or miscalibration.
Evaluation Overview
A - Good
The score turns mainly on Ownership, with the largest penalty coming from Toxic Products.
Strengths
- Ownership10/10
- Governance9/10
- Extraction8/10
Penalties
- Toxic Products-1
Evidence state
- ConfidenceHigh 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.
|
10 / 10 |
The linked record identifies Suma Wholefoods as a worker cooperative. Linked evidence
|
Governance
?
Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic
stakeholder control at 10.
|
9 / 10 |
Suma states that it operates as a worker cooperative with equal pay and democratic working practices, provides evidence for the relevant scoring judgment. |
Extraction
?
Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured
extraction judgment.
|
8 / 10 | |
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.
|
7 / 7 |
Suma states that it uses equal pay and democratic working practices. Linked evidence
|
Solidarity with the
Unemployed
?
Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment,
and non-competes.
|
6 / 7 | |
Loss-Bearing Fidelity
?
Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and
public obligations.
|
6 / 7 |
The linked record identifies Suma Wholefoods as a worker cooperative. |
Market Conduct
?
Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.
|
4 / 5 | |
Product Integrity
?
Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.
|
5 / 5 |
The linked record identifies Suma Wholefoods as a worker cooperative. |
Scale Integrity
?
Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.
|
5 / 5 |
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 |
Suma Wholefoods currently operates a grocery wholesale channel where toxic-product screening includes pesticides and other high-risk food-system categories; the product category creates… Linked evidence
|
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.
High 83/100
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 19/20
10 verified linked claims
Source quality 11/18
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
ConfidenceHigh 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.1Suma Wholefoods describes itself as a worker cooperative.
- Suma aboutOfficial self-description · 68%
2Suma states that it operates as a worker cooperative with equal pay and democratic working practices, provides evidence for the relevant scoring judgment.
- Suma Our Co-opGeneral web source · 58%
3Suma Wholefoods describes itself as a worker-owned equal-pay cooperative with no bosses.
- Suma WholefoodsGeneral web source · 58%
- Suma Wholefoods: our co-opGeneral web source · 58%
4Suma states that it uses equal pay and democratic working practices.
- Suma Our Co-opGeneral web source · 58%
5Suma says it sources from other cooperatives where possible and presents community and ethical sourcing as part of its model.
- Suma WholefoodsGeneral web source · 58%
- Suma Wholefoods who we areGeneral web source · 58%
6Suma says it researches supply chains and ingredients for fair-traded, sustainable, vegetarian, vegan, organic, and specialist food and household products.
- Suma WholefoodsGeneral web source · 58%
- Suma Wholefoods who we areGeneral web source · 58%
7Suma sells wholesale and retail wholefood, body care, and household products through a worker-owned equal-pay cooperative.
- Suma WholefoodsGeneral web source · 58%
- Suma Wholefoods: our co-opGeneral web source · 58%
8Suma describes its range as vegetarian, natural, healthy, responsibly sourced, vegan, organic, free-from, and specialist food and drink products.
- Suma WholefoodsGeneral web source · 58%
- Suma Wholefoods who we areGeneral web source · 58%
9Suma describes itself as Europe's largest equal-pay cooperative and a worker-owned co-op founded in 1977.
- Suma WholefoodsGeneral web source · 58%
- Suma Wholefoods: our co-opGeneral web source · 58%
10Suma Wholefoods currently operates a grocery wholesale channel where toxic-product screening includes pesticides and other high-risk food-system categories; the product category creates ordinary toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety exposure under the directory's toxic-products screen.
- Suma aboutOfficial self-description · 68%
- EPA: human health issues related to pesticidesPrimary public record · 100%
- CDC: Sugar-sweetened beverages and healthPrimary public record · 100%
11Suma Wholefoods is described in the current profile as vegetarian or plant-forward: A worker cooperative wholesaler distributing vegetarian, natural, and ethical goods, with equal pay, collective management, and scale discipline. Suma Wholefoods scores well because ownership is comparatively aligned an…
- Suma Wholefoods public siteGeneral web source · 58%
Help Improve This Profile
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.
Added tentative AI-generated Toxic Products penalty -1 and directory value for current toxic, addictive, pesticide, livestock, chemical, or consumer-safety product exposure.
Added tentative AI-generated claim-backed score components for a previously listed under-review company or group.