Collaborative Consumption is a global movement reinventing the way we consume, with peer-to-peer sharing trumping individual ownership and the Internet as our global exchange platform.
Rachel Botsman is the mastermind behind the movement and co-author of What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, co-written with Roo Rogers.
Published in 2010, the best-selling book discusses the 21st century phenomenon of peer-to-peer transactions allowing people to share, barter, trade and swap anything from cars and houses to babysitters and gardening space. The book highlights the innovators, business ventures and companies leading the way in collaborative consumption, driven by a global community eager to chuck consumerism for financial and environmental savings.
Information technology has made it easier and faster for people to connect across geographical barriers, putting individuals easily in touch not just with neighbors, but with people from other continents.
What can you do with collaborative consumption? You can share bicycles in Paris (Velib), borrow designer bags and jewelry (Bag Borrow & Steal), rent a private parking space (ParkatmyHouse) or trade errands for $5 (Fiverr)—just to name a few.
Turning consumerism on its head, collaborative consumption ensures that your personal consumer goods do not simply go to waste from lack of use but are shared and re-consumed in the global marketplace. Meanwhile, you can make or save money, reduce waste and help the environment all at the same time.
Read more.
Watch Rachel Botsman’s discuss the movement (and her book) below.
