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    This Valentines Day, #BeMyTwinPine

    This Valentine’s Day, U.S. Co-ops is asking our members and the broader co-op community to #BeMyTwinPine. In the spirit of cooperation, we invite you to share what you love most about co-ops on social media.

    #BeMyTwinPine

    • Share a post that captures your love for co-ops and the co-op community, or ask your favorite cooperators to #BeMyTwinPine. We can’t wait to see your photos and read your co-op “love stories.” Download one of our co-op valentines to get started!
    • Be sure to tag U.S. Co-ops and add the hashtag, #BeMyTwinPine
    • We’ll highlight our favorite stories in Co-op Weekly!

    Because our co-op valentines are a seasonal riff on the beloved Twin Pines symbol, we thought it would be the perfect time for a history refresher on why the Twin Pines became an important symbol for cooperation. James Peter Warbasse, the founder and first president of U.S. Co-ops, explained it best. Scroll down to read the full story!

    Download a co-op valentine

    Add this image to your social media post with the hashtag #BeMyTwinPine!

    Download the image

    Add this image to your social media post with the hashtag #BeMyTwinPine!

    Download the image

    Add this image to your social media post with the hashtag #BeMyTwinPine!

    Download the image

    An Iconic Symbol of Cooperation

    Adapted from James Peter Warbasse

    The pine tree is an ancient symbol of endurance, abundance and immortality, many of the qualities we see in cooperation. In mythology, the pine tree and its symbol the pine cone represent life and the perpetuation of life. The pine tree symbolizes the enduring quality of cooperation.

    More than one pine tree is used to represent the mutual collaboration at the heart of every cooperative. The trunks of the pine trees continue into the roots, forming a circle—another symbol of eternal life. The circle in our emblem also represents the world, of which cooperation is a part and which depends on cooperation for its existence.

    The color of the two pine trees and the circle is green, the color of chlorophyl which is critical to the process of producing life-sustaining oxygen. The background of the circle is golden yellow, representing the sun—the giver of light and life.