A six page article exploring collaborative consumption, a rising trend in the alternative economy.
"In the last year, I’ve found myself couchsurfing in Spain, crowdfunding a community park in Berlin, lift sharing to a festival and borrowing a pressure washer off a complete stranger. Yes, this has been my initiation into a growing global phenomenon known as Collaborative Consumption.
So what precisely is Collaborative Consumption? It encompasses any kind of trading, swapping, lending, bartering and reuse of items, turning away from the idea that we need to all own our own things and focusing instead on collaboration and sharing. The ideas behind this movement are not new; during the first and second world wars there was a waste-not-want-not mentality, where people joined together to make sure nobody was without and nothing was wasted. But post-war, the emphasis shifted towards consumerism, with disposable belongings and generous spending indicating affluence and fuelling the growing economy."
Excerpt from Pretty Nostalgic Magazine, Issue 06, March 2013.