The Seikatsu Club Consumers' Cooperative (SCCU) started in 1968 as the initiative of a single homemaker in Tokyo. She brought together 200 women in order to get a more reasonable price for milk through bulk purchasing. Today the movement has more than 300,000 members in all of Japan, mostly women. They no longer want to be passive consumers, but rather want to be able to determine the quality and the sources of their food themselves. Thus, healthy foods and other products are produced in small cooperatives according to set ecological, social, and health standards. The organization gives particular importance to ordering from local farmers and cooperatives. The members are organized in small groups, the so-called han, and purchase directly from the producers, from whom the products are ordered four weeks ahead of delivery. In this way, the producers are able to plan in advance, avoid unnecessary transport trips, and offer their products for reasonable prices. All the information concerning production methods, quality, storage, and delivery, as well as production costs are kept transparent. The result is an atmosphere of trust and a partnership between producers and consumers; the prices become stabilized, and the production of agricultural surplus is avoided. Seikatsu is supported through monthly membership dues of 1,000 yen - about 9 euros.