Green Mountain Spinnery

Year Founded: 1981
Employee-Owned Since: 2006 (Worker Cooperative)
Headquarters: Putney
Employees: 10+
Line of Business: Yarn design and production
Website: www.spinnery.com

Green Mountain Spinnery is a worker-owned cooperative that designs and produces "richly-colored, must-touch" yarns of alpaca, mohair, wool, cotton, and more.

In October 2021, member-owner Larisa Demos spoke with GEO Collective (Grassroots Economic Organizing) on the topics of longevity, ethos, and networking in the co-op realm.

“More businesses could change to a worker-owned model where the workers actually have a say in their day-to-day business," Demos said. "I think it just rolls over into people having better lives at home, and just creating a better world.”

"If co-ops are really running true to their values, they’re really caring about their people," Demos added. "They’re caring about the planet over profit, and I just think that would make things so much better. I think there would just be a lot more unity in the world, and more people caring about their fellow neighbors and other people around them, instead of just making a bunch of money.”

Green Mountain Spinnery is a member the Valley Alliance of Worker Cooperatives, an organization that seeks to build the local economy through the development and promotion of worker co-ops in southern Vermont and western Massachusetts. The Spinnery is also a member of the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the nation's leading grassroots worker co-op membership organization.

Green Mountain Spinnery's mill is known for its vintage American-made equipment in use since the Spinnery's opening in 1981. The Spinnery offers free tours of the mill Monday-Friday for individuals and small groups.