NDG’s Coop La Maison Verte stays one step ahead of competition

Dealing in organic, fair trade, as well ecological products and services has for years put them ahead of the local competition. Now they hope to accomplish the same with their web presence. “For a long time we’ve been getting emails from people in different regions of Quebec, asking us if they can place orders online,” said coop founding member Jason Hughes.

Even people living as far away as the Eastern Townships, the Maritimes and the United States have all made service inquiries with Coop La Maison Verte, so they thought it was time to make things much easier and more efficient.

Last December the coop decided to quietly launch a website to see what the response would be like from those interested. And since then there has been a huge local demand and they’ve had to constantly add new items to their virtual store. “What we’re finding is that there are a lot of people in east-end Montreal or the Plateau that find it more convenient,” Hughes said.

Located at 5785 Sherbrooke Street in Montreal’s NDG neighbourhood, Coop La Maison Verte first opened its doors in November 2000. Almost nine years later and they’ve built themselves a community-based cooperative 7,500 members strong. “In the beginning we were encouraged to do an online store and we didn’t because we wanted to build roots in the community and connect with people on the street,” he said.

Since it first opened in NDG, an increase in awareness and concern has lead to many people in the city getting active on environmental issues and taking their consuming habits more seriously.

Hughes says that he’s encouraged by this fact and that he averages two new members a day, which is quite a feat considering many of the large retail outlets and chain stores along Sherbrooke. “There are other stores that sell the things we do and there’s a mix of products here that’s not really available anywhere else,” he said. “We try as much as we can to get from local suppliers and we have partnerships with local farms.”

Many of the items that Coop La Maison Verte carries in their store and online can be found at stores such as Loblaws and Jean Coutu, but according to Hughes this is even more reason to support a cooperative, because of their commitment to educating consumers as to what’s ecologically-friendly. “As more conventional retailers start to have these products in their stores it’s incumbent upon us to get new products and push the envelope,” he said. “To try and stay one step ahead of those guys so that they’re following us.”

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