Free Sharing Is Good: How to Save Money, Time and Resources Through Collaborative Consumption by Beth Buczynski

one of the fastest-growing segments of the workforce. Want your town or city to be known for innovation and entrepreneurship? Encourage this growing workforce
    as well as coworking systems, non-profit alliances, and open data sharing. It will be a whole lot easier than trying to entice a major corporation or big box store to set up shop. Plus, freelancers and solo entrepreneurs are far more likely to live in the communities where they work. When they flourish, the local economy benefits, and the whole happy cycle starts all over again.
    Grants Access to Underserved Populations
    As mentioned in the last section, it’s sometimes the sharing of
    non-tangible things that makes the most impact in our communi-
    ties. Entrepreneurs or non-profit innovators who might otherwise

    Why Share Now?
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    not have access to the support or affordable space necessary to realize their ideas are well served by coworking spaces. Individuals, especially children, who might not otherwise have access to books (electronic or otherwise), periodicals, computers, the Internet, or computer training can get it cost-free at libraries. Conversely, when owners of outdated or unneeded technologies choose to rent, swap, or sell them via redistribution outlets like eBay, Craigslist, or Swap.
    com, those for whom high costs were a prohibitive barrier are given a chance to keep up with technological advancements.
    Lending libraries, typically neighborhood-level cooperatives, give people access to tools, equipment, and accessories that would be too 46
    Sharing is Good
    expensive to purchase for just one project or new hobby. Instead, groups of individuals come together to create a single standing collection that can be borrowed by anyone for an hour, a day, or a week.
    Waste is reduced because families no longer feel the need to buy
    their own lawn mower, hedge trimmer, or ladder, which might oth-
    erwise sit unused for 364 days out of the year. Retired craftspeople get a place to donate their tools and see them put to good use. Often knowledge and friendship is also exchanged between lenders and
    borrowers in addition to the physical tool. Enthusiasm about repairing and repurposing grows, encouraging greater self-sufficiency and less waste.
    Peer-to-peer clothing swaps prevent textile waste and help fami-
    lies stay well-clothed at no expense. Although most clothing swaps take place on the local level, there’s evidence that the concept scales up well. There are dozens of Web-based services that will allow you to give or rent clothing and accessories to others who need them.
    Don’t want to buy a gown for a one-time event or a new pair of shoes for a job interview? Renting and swapping keeps these items in use and provides access to what could be life-changing clothing for little to no cost.
    Throughout this running list of examples, we’ve seen that re-
    lationships and knowledge are often unexpected by-products of a
    sharing community. It’s hard to borrow someone’s lawn mower or
    gardening tools without striking up a conversation about mutual ha-tred of mowing the lawn or the best way to grow succulent tomatoes in dry conditions. Time and skill shares are special types of sharing that can be unintentional, but, in some cases, these intangible shares are chosen on purpose. New skills, like designing a website or knit-ting a scarf, are passed between community members who might
    otherwise never have struck up a conversation. In some cases, the acquisition of these skills can lead to new work or volunteering opportunities, improving quality of life. In others, it simply provides a new hobby, opening the door to new friends and providing welcome
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    opportunities for relaxation. Skill sharing is also cyclical; those who learn a new skill can pass the same skill on to someone else.
    Sharing Protects the Environment
    When individuals embrace sharing as a way to access resources
    and support others in the community, pride, citizenship, and