Sharing Economy – A way out of the consumption driven economy?

Current environmental conditions are critical. If we consume the way we are doing now, we would need the resources of 1.6 Earths. One material reason for this issue is the consumption driven economy of today which is still looking for growth. An alternative approach in consuming more sustainable is the collaborative consumption, also known as the sharing economy. There is no well-known definition of the sharing economy yet, but one known by Rachel Botsman is: “An economic system based on sharing underused assets or services, for free or for a fee, directly from individuals” Botsman (2012). Sharing underused assets means that individuals rather buy or lend assets from other individuals instead of buying it new. In that way the lifetime of a specific item can be extended or the item can be shared and therefore be used from different individuals more than once:

Both ways would prevent people from buying new things that would tempt the industry to also produce and pollute more. With the rise of the more environmentally aware generation Y, a shift in society brings shared access to things in front of individual ownership. Platforms like UBER for carpooling or redistribution markets such as eBay & Co. are already successful parts of this sharing economy. Reducing the demand and sharing underused assets could therefore be a key to a more sustainable economy.

Sources:

http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/99681736/201306017BachelorThesis.pdf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-pickell/how-the-sharing-economy-h_b_8761184.html

http://www.wwf.ch/de/hintergrundwissen/hintergrund_konsum/lpr/

http://rachelbotsman.com/thinking/