concepts such as materialism, possessive individualism, and self-identity evolve into
the concept of property ownership, which hinders development of the sharing
economy (Belk 2007).
13.1.2 Classifying the Sharing Economy and Its Policies
The sharing economy can be divided into four categories, according to the content
shared: product recirculation, increased utilization of durable assets, exchange of
services, and sharing of productive assets (Schor and Attwood-Charles 2017).
The first type of sharing economy is reuse-based recycling. Founded in 1995,
eBay and Craigslist provided markets for reusing goods and are now part of the
mainstream consumer experience. The consumption methods represented by these
sites have been driven by the bulk purchase of cheap, imported goods for nearly two
decades, causing a surge in the number of unnecessary items owned by individuals.
The evolution of these reuse platforms has reduced the risk of dealing with strangers.
By 2010, many similar sites had been launched, including ThredUp and Threadflip
for apparel, free exchange sites such as Freecycle and Yerdle, and bartering sites
such as Swapstyle.com. Online exchanges are also available for apparel, books, toys,
sporting goods, furniture, and household items.
The second type of sharing economy promotes more intensive use of durables and
other assets. In wealthy countries, households either buy products or own property
that is not used to capacity (e.g., spare rooms or lawnmowers). Zipcar launched as a
service that placed vehicles in convenient urban areas and offered hourly rentals.
Following the recession in 2009, rental assets became economically attractive, and
the popularity of similar initiatives soared, including in the transportation sector car
rental sites (e.g., Relay Rides), ridesharing (e.g., Zimride), ride services (e.g., Uber,
UberX, Lyft), and bicycle sharing (e.g., Boston’s Hubway, Chicago’s Divvy Bikes).
In the lodging sector, the innovator was CouchSurfing, who began pairing travelers
with people offering rooms and couches for free in 1999. CouchSurfing led to
Airbnb, with whom more than ten million people have reported staying. There has
also been a resurgence of unmonetized initiatives, such as tool libraries, that arose
decades ago in low-income communities. These efforts are usually based locally to
increase reliability and minimize the cost of transporting bulky items. New digital
platforms include the ability to share durable goods as components of neighborhood
buildings (e.g., Share Some Sugar, NeighborGoods). These innovations can provide
people with low-cost access to goods and space and in some cases offer opportunities to make money to supplement more traditional sources of income.
The third kind of sharing economy is service exchange. Its origins lie in time
banking, which began in the 1980s in the United States to provide opportunities for
the unemployed. Time banks are community-based, nonprofit, multilateral barter
sites that trade on the basis of time spent. They follow the principle that all members’
13 Social Innovation Toward a Low-Carbon Society
245
the concept of property ownership, which hinders development of the sharing
economy (Belk 2007).
13.1.2 Classifying the Sharing Economy and Its Policies
The sharing economy can be divided into four categories, according to the content
shared: product recirculation, increased utilization of durable assets, exchange of
services, and sharing of productive assets (Schor and Attwood-Charles 2017).
The first type of sharing economy is reuse-based recycling. Founded in 1995,
eBay and Craigslist provided markets for reusing goods and are now part of the
mainstream consumer experience. The consumption methods represented by these
sites have been driven by the bulk purchase of cheap, imported goods for nearly two
decades, causing a surge in the number of unnecessary items owned by individuals.
The evolution of these reuse platforms has reduced the risk of dealing with strangers.
By 2010, many similar sites had been launched, including ThredUp and Threadflip
for apparel, free exchange sites such as Freecycle and Yerdle, and bartering sites
such as Swapstyle.com. Online exchanges are also available for apparel, books, toys,
sporting goods, furniture, and household items.
The second type of sharing economy promotes more intensive use of durables and
other assets. In wealthy countries, households either buy products or own property
that is not used to capacity (e.g., spare rooms or lawnmowers). Zipcar launched as a
service that placed vehicles in convenient urban areas and offered hourly rentals.
Following the recession in 2009, rental assets became economically attractive, and
the popularity of similar initiatives soared, including in the transportation sector car
rental sites (e.g., Relay Rides), ridesharing (e.g., Zimride), ride services (e.g., Uber,
UberX, Lyft), and bicycle sharing (e.g., Boston’s Hubway, Chicago’s Divvy Bikes).
In the lodging sector, the innovator was CouchSurfing, who began pairing travelers
with people offering rooms and couches for free in 1999. CouchSurfing led to
Airbnb, with whom more than ten million people have reported staying. There has
also been a resurgence of unmonetized initiatives, such as tool libraries, that arose
decades ago in low-income communities. These efforts are usually based locally to
increase reliability and minimize the cost of transporting bulky items. New digital
platforms include the ability to share durable goods as components of neighborhood
buildings (e.g., Share Some Sugar, NeighborGoods). These innovations can provide
people with low-cost access to goods and space and in some cases offer opportunities to make money to supplement more traditional sources of income.
The third kind of sharing economy is service exchange. Its origins lie in time
banking, which began in the 1980s in the United States to provide opportunities for
the unemployed. Time banks are community-based, nonprofit, multilateral barter
sites that trade on the basis of time spent. They follow the principle that all members’
13 Social Innovation Toward a Low-Carbon Society
245