Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.

This 6th Principle is a practical expression of the co-operative value of solidarity. It is a principle that differentiates co-operatives from other forms of business enterprise, some of which may share the values of co-operatives without commitment to our values and Principles. Commitment to co-operation among co-operatives is the hallmark of co-operative business enterprise. Why? because it is the clearest expression of our common desire to create a better more sustainable and equitable economic future for all humanity.

The 6th Principle shows two dimensions of the nature of co-operatives. the first dimension is that they are economic entities trading goods and services. the second is that they are social entities of members who relate positively to other co-operatives in the way they conduct business. In joining a co-operative members are not only helping to build their own co-operatives but the wider co-operative movement. they co-operate with other co-operatives to create wealth for the many, not personal wealth for the few through unbridled market competition. Members benefit not only from the actions of their own co-operative but from the impact of its co-operative engagement and trade with other co-operatives.

There is a key difference between co-operation among co-operatives and the actions of investor-owned businesses that use mergers and acquisitions to concentrate business activity, increase market share and maximise the return on capital employed. While some larger co-operatives have been created through mergers and acquisitions, the normative approach, subject to compliance with anti-competition and anti-trust legislation, is for co-operatives to co-operate with each other in competitive markets through forming co-operative groups, secondary co-operatives and federations to realise the co-operative advantage and create common wealth for mutual benefit.

From the earliest days, co-operatives recognised the need to work together. In the UK the first co-operative congresses took place over a decade before the rochdale Pioneers opened their store in 1844. throughout the world, co-operatives quickly established national apex organisations to unite and represent co-operatives.

In 1895 the International Co-operative Alliance was established as a global representative body. the Alliance is now the largest non-governmental organisation in the world in terms of membership and has significant reach, recognition and influence as a formal consultative body with the United Nations (UN), the International Labour organization (ILo) and the UN food and Agriculture organization (fAo).

This 6th Principle is closely associated with the co-operative value of solidarity. Co-operatives are better together. by working together, co-operatives gain the expertise, scale, and support necessary to heighten awareness, sustainability, and impact, especially where fixed costs and resources can be shared.

The 6th Principle was first explicitly expressed as one of the Co-operative Principles in what, at the time, was described as a "clarification" of the Principles at the 23rd Congress of the Alliance in vienna in 1966. this review recognised that if the vision of a new co-operative economy were to be realised, co-operatives must explicitly nurture and support one another. the report of the Congress in vienna included the following recommendation:

"... we have thought it important to add a principle of growth by mutual co-operation among co-operatives:

-All co-operative organisations, in order to best serve the interests of their members and their communities, should actively co-operate in every practical way with other co-operatives at local, national and international levels".

the report further explained:

"... although the principles originated as rules governing the relations of the individual members of co-operatives with one another and with their societies, their application is not confined to primary societies. they should be loyally observed by institutions which represent the co-operation of co-operative societies rather than of individual persons...

.... the idea of a co-operative sector in the economy is too often an intellectual concept without a corresponding material reality, simply because of the lack of unity and cohesion between the different branches of the movement."

the report also acknowledged that co-operatives had little chance of reaching their potential when working alone. the idea and promise of the co-operative movement required coordination, co-operation, and collaboration amongst existing co-operatives, and the expansion of the mutual self-help model to an ever-increasing number of economic sectors, social issues, and geographic regions. the report continued:

"If the co-operative movement is to rise to its full stature, either within each country, or internationally, ... co-operative institutions must unreservedly support one another."