As of last week, our class has shifted its focus to the environment and to the impact humans have on the world. We came across a phrase called collaborative consumption which basically describes the shift that our economy is taking from hyper consumption towards one that is reusing products in a society. With the increase in swapping and trading social media platforms, it’s easier than ever to trade away unnecessary stuff for stuff that you're actually interested in. This way, perfectly good items aren't wasted in a landfill. Rachel Botsman, an Oxford and Harvard graduate, describes this kind of collaboration in her TED Talks, explaining how this works. This was an impressive video, really hitting home the kind of impact this has on our economy.
After watching this video, we decided to pick a couple of collaborative consumption websites to research and the one that I received is called Freecycle. It's a nonprofit organization that really tries to preserve resources and reduce the amount of trash going into landfills. The founder, Deron Beal noticed the extraordinary amount of reusable, good items being thrown away in Tucson, Arizona, and tried to get nonprofit organizations to use them. Realizing that there was an easier way to do this, he set up the Freecycle Network which allowed everyone in Tucson Arizona to give away and receive easily. This concept spread to over 85 countries and they are currently keeping 500 tons a day out of landfills! It works on a local scale and once you join a group in your area, you are free to give away and receive items with no strings attached. This means you don't need to trade to get something in return. It's purely just a give and receive policy out of generosity. Once, an agreement has been reached, a meeting place is set up so the product can be given away.
So next time there's something you don't need but also don't want to throw out, try going to Freecycle and seeing if someone would actually be interested in that. One man's trash is, after all, another man's treasure.
