How did the National Equitable Labour Exchange try to apply the idea that labor creates wealth?

The National Equitable Labour Exchange was established in 1832 to provide a marketplace for goods produced by self-governing workshops, which were stimulated by Robert Owen’s influence on the labour union movement.1

The exchange sought to apply the principle that labor is the source of all wealth by creating a system where the value of goods was determined by the amount of labor required to produce them, rather than by traditional market prices. By facilitating the exchange of these products, the initiative aimed to bypass conventional commercial structures and ensure that workers received the full value of their productive efforts. This effort was part of a broader vision to reorganize industry and society through united action and cooperative principles, reflecting Owen's belief that the competition of human labor with machinery was a primary cause of economic distress.12