What do Craigslist, car co-ops, shared office space, and clothing swaps have in common? These mediums are shifting our economic model and our mindframes away from consumption and toward collaboration. So what? They’re helping to build community, balance our pocket books (not that many of us keep a pocket book these days), and decrease unnecessary resource use and waste. And their popularity is increasing by the minute!
When I search for the root cause of many of the big picture challenges our world is facing, I always come back to the “Buy-Use-Chuck” culture we’ve found ourselves in. This culture contributes to the accumulation of waste in our landfills and the consumption of finite resources. Meanwhile, it forces us to work more hours to pay the bills, which contributes to stress, health issues, and erosion of community. Because this inhibits us from meeting our basic human needs (subsistence, understanding, creativity, leisure, participation, identity, affection, protection, and freedom), we feel motivated to buy more to satisfy these needs that aren’t being met. Unfortunately, we’ve become so disconnected from the impact our choices have on ourselves, our neighbours, and our home that it’s easier to make daily choices that are detrimental to us than to take extra time to think of an alternative to the item we think we need to buy. Imagine if you had to walk past the landfill every day. Would you re-think your purchases?
But wait, isn’t this blog titled “Good News” ?! The good news is this: The “Buy-Use-Chuck” culture is a relatively new phenomenon. We’ve lived far longer as a species that relies on collaboration and MacGyver-like resourcefulness than on the ability to swipe a credit card. So, it makes sense that we’re starting to shift back toward this model…and with a modern twist. Suddenly, thanks to the internet, we can share with a far larger community than our own circle of friends.
In her book, "What's Mine Is Yours: How Collaborative Consumption is Changing the Way We Live" Rachel Botsman encourages us to consume "smarter" by moving away from the outdated concept of outright ownership towards one where we share, barter, rent and swap assets that include not just consumables, but also our "time and space".
This is interesting because it’s shifting our trust. People are becoming less trusting of centralised (and faceless) monopolies and are putting their trust back in the people of their communities (whether online or in-person). For example, I love using craigslist as it allows me to get things I need from people who no longer want them (a win-win that leaves everyone satisfied). AND I’ve met some pretty cool people in the process (for a neat story about Craigslist and how it brings people together – check out One Red Paperclip).
So, collaborative consumption mediums can help you feel more connected to people, decrease your ecological footprint, and ease financial pressures..how do you get started? If you’re interested in diving into the world of collaborative consumption, Botsman’s advice is to begin by drawing up an inventory of your assets. Gumtree.com estimates that the average UK home has nearly $1,200 worth of unused items – old gadgets, books, clothes etc – collecting dust. Wow! And that’s just the beginning. Botsman says to think more laterally: consider the spare storage space you might have in a garage; the electric drill you could rent to neighbours; your unique skills – dog-walking, accountancy, shelf-fitting – you could hire by the hour, or exchange for someone else's skill.
Start putting it out there in your friend group and you may be surprised by what you start! Happy sharing!
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