207
a group of entrepreneurs created a new currency, the WIR,
1 which continues to be
exchanged today – notably during economic recessions, where this complementary
currency may have a stabilizing effect on the national economy (Studer 2006 ). Since
the 2008–2009 fi nancial crisis in Greece, international press has covered the emergence of new forms of barter, where services and products are traded based on units
of exchange ranging from time to community currencies (Poggioli 2011 ; Lowen
2012 ). New peer-to-peer models for sharing resources and services are also very
much in the spotlight today, propelled by information technologies that have made
sharing and bartering activities available on a wider scale and across different sectors. The sharing economy touts lofty goals, such community-building, economic
empowerment, creative expression, but also better resource management. Whether
these goals are achieved remains to be evaluated in practice, particularly in relation
to environmental aims: the notion that ‘sharing’ could lead to reduced energy and
material throughputs are still up for debate (Cohen 2014 ). Kalamar ( 2013 ) coined
the termed ‘share-washing’ for attempts by ‘business as usual’ activities to claim
such social goals.
In this chapter, the social and solidarity economy (SSE) will be considered, an
economic paradigm that is robust in terms of conceptual and historical developments, but also active around the world as a social movement. The SSE includes a
range of activities, such as fair trade, community currencies, peer-to-peer activities,
cooperative and mutual organizations, some forms of sharing, to name but a few.
This chapter introduces the social and solidarity economy (SSE) as a theoretical
framework, social movement and growing practice around the world. The goal is to
not to contest the competitive market economy or promote the solidarity economy,
per se , but rather place the social and solidarity economy in relation to industrial
ecology (IE). In comparing the SSE to IE in theory and in practice, the chapter discusses how a different economic paradigm might be relevant to the industrial ecology community.
In the section that follows, the social and solidarity economy is defi ned, with a
discussion around the conceptual links between this economic paradigm and industrial ecology; in the second section, three ‘solidarity’ practices will be discussed in
relation to IE, namely: activities in the ‘communal’ sharing economy, community
currencies and ‘solidaristic’ crowd-funding. By refl ecting on the SSE and IE and
understanding the opportunities and challenges this presents, the aim of this chapter
is to further the work of industrial ecology community, both in research and
practice.
1 See Sahakian ( 2014 ) for an overview of the WIR as well as community currencies in Argentina
and Japan. The WIR bank emerged from the Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft cooperative
(‘Economic Circle’ in German, with a play on the word wir , which translates to we or us ). Today,
more than 60,000 SMEs exchange WIR currency, a unit in parity with the Swiss franc and more
commonly circulated in German-speaking Switzerland. Given the small scale of WIR exchanges,
there are some doubts as to whether the stabilizing effect can be attributed to the WIR alone; this
claim would merit further investigation.
10 The Social and Solidarity Economy: Why Is It Relevant to Industrial Ecology?
a group of entrepreneurs created a new currency, the WIR,
1 which continues to be
exchanged today – notably during economic recessions, where this complementary
currency may have a stabilizing effect on the national economy (Studer 2006 ). Since
the 2008–2009 fi nancial crisis in Greece, international press has covered the emergence of new forms of barter, where services and products are traded based on units
of exchange ranging from time to community currencies (Poggioli 2011 ; Lowen
2012 ). New peer-to-peer models for sharing resources and services are also very
much in the spotlight today, propelled by information technologies that have made
sharing and bartering activities available on a wider scale and across different sectors. The sharing economy touts lofty goals, such community-building, economic
empowerment, creative expression, but also better resource management. Whether
these goals are achieved remains to be evaluated in practice, particularly in relation
to environmental aims: the notion that ‘sharing’ could lead to reduced energy and
material throughputs are still up for debate (Cohen 2014 ). Kalamar ( 2013 ) coined
the termed ‘share-washing’ for attempts by ‘business as usual’ activities to claim
such social goals.
In this chapter, the social and solidarity economy (SSE) will be considered, an
economic paradigm that is robust in terms of conceptual and historical developments, but also active around the world as a social movement. The SSE includes a
range of activities, such as fair trade, community currencies, peer-to-peer activities,
cooperative and mutual organizations, some forms of sharing, to name but a few.
This chapter introduces the social and solidarity economy (SSE) as a theoretical
framework, social movement and growing practice around the world. The goal is to
not to contest the competitive market economy or promote the solidarity economy,
per se , but rather place the social and solidarity economy in relation to industrial
ecology (IE). In comparing the SSE to IE in theory and in practice, the chapter discusses how a different economic paradigm might be relevant to the industrial ecology community.
In the section that follows, the social and solidarity economy is defi ned, with a
discussion around the conceptual links between this economic paradigm and industrial ecology; in the second section, three ‘solidarity’ practices will be discussed in
relation to IE, namely: activities in the ‘communal’ sharing economy, community
currencies and ‘solidaristic’ crowd-funding. By refl ecting on the SSE and IE and
understanding the opportunities and challenges this presents, the aim of this chapter
is to further the work of industrial ecology community, both in research and
practice.
1 See Sahakian ( 2014 ) for an overview of the WIR as well as community currencies in Argentina
and Japan. The WIR bank emerged from the Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft cooperative
(‘Economic Circle’ in German, with a play on the word wir , which translates to we or us ). Today,
more than 60,000 SMEs exchange WIR currency, a unit in parity with the Swiss franc and more
commonly circulated in German-speaking Switzerland. Given the small scale of WIR exchanges,
there are some doubts as to whether the stabilizing effect can be attributed to the WIR alone; this
claim would merit further investigation.
10 The Social and Solidarity Economy: Why Is It Relevant to Industrial Ecology?