As we hurdle towards the end of the year, anxiety levels are high, deadlines loom and the thought of shopping for gifts is the last thing many of us have time for. Yet it is supposed to be a time of joy, revelry and gift giving. If you are anything like me, this year you might want to recapture the ‘joy of giving’ by joining the sharing revolution.
I was first drawn to this concept by Rachel Botsman and her book which highlights the power of collaboration and sharing through digital technologies. She describes a shift in consumer values from ownership to access in What’s Mine is Yours: How Collaborative Consumption Is Changing The Way We Live which demonstrates how a collaborative economy can transform the way we live, work and consume. TIME Magazine named Collaborative Consumption one of the “10 Ideas That Will Change The World”.
If you’ve not heard of it, you might be interested to know that strategists point to projections suggesting the “sharing” and “rental” economies will generate $US3.5 billion in revenue in 2013, and grow to as big as $US110 billion over the next few years. This is big and growing and there is an easy way we can all get involved.
So how does this link with Christmas? Together, entire communities and cities around the world are using technology to do more with less by renting, lending, swapping, bartering, gifting and sharing products on a scale never before possible. And here in Australia there is a new sharing platform called TuShare — via a mobile app and website – that makes it easier than ever to give things we no longer need to our friends, family and neighbours. Tapping into existing social networks TuShare helps products find their next owners, avoiding waste and landfill in the process.
Women represent an economic powerhouse, making over 85% of the consumer purchases and control $12 trillion of the overall $18.4 trillion global spend. So how we consume matters and can make a big difference to the economy.
Users across the country have already shared thousands of items in TuShare’s test phase in October, making it one of the fastest growing sharing platforms in Australia. The aim is to tap in to the sharing economy, building community, saving money and the planet. Over four trillion kgs of waste is sent to landfill each year – most of it made up of a lot of really useful items such as clothes, toys, electronics, household items and books that could all be shared.
I am unashamedly biased, as I am on the Advisory Board of TuShare which was created by ABC’s New Inventors judge and former CSIRO executive James Bradfield Moody.
What makes it unique to other sharing sites is that TuShare provides a $10 door-to-door courier service option (under 25kgs in same capital city), paid for by the receiver to simplify the process of transferring items. It also allows users to create wishlists, so you and your family can name what you want this Christmas — matching givers and receivers on a trusted platform.
Best of all it’s scientifically proven to make us happy. According to the 2013 World Happiness Report, helping others is one of the top six things the happiest people across the world have in common. Happiness is an aspiration of every human being and can also be a measure of social progress.
Tips for joining the sharing revolution:
- Buy local when possible
- Reuse when practical
- Share when possible
- Join a trusted platform to build community