GUIDE TO SHARING The Emerging Sharing Economy t’s one of the first things we Ilearn as kids: how to share. But this practice usually fades as we become adults. Our houses become filled with our own “stuff.” Garages, attics, basements, and closets transform into cluttered warehouses. When we need something, whether it’s a chainsaw or a roasting rack, our first thought is to go out and buy it. But why get it new when our neighbor down the street has one we can borrow? Sharing implies a different approach to ownership of the goods, services, skills, and talents that abound in a community. Through sharing systems, we can get the utility out of goods and services without the burden of ownership—and in ways that help build community, clear clutter, and allow for more equitable access to resources. The Janelle Orsi (third from left), co-author of The Sharing Solution, enjoys a meal “access-over-ownership” model frees us from having to make, with her cohousing mates in Berkeley, California. Janelle shares garden space buy, and consume ever more stuff, saving our pocketbooks and regular meals with her neighbors, takes part in a grocery co-op, shares an office space, and is always looking for new ways to share in her life. She blogs at and reducing our environmental impact. www.sharingsolution.com. PHOTO: JANELLE ORSI Today, a powerful sharing economy is emerging across the United States and around the world. Building on age-old roots but taking advantage of new online networks, innovative approaches to “collaborative consumption” are being developed within communities and on the Web to help people share goods and services more easily. In this guide, New Dream invites you to explore our action ideas, fun videos, and useful tips to help you create new sharing opportunities in your community! Did You Know… • Many of the things we own sit unused • Sharing is a growing trend. Worldwide, for most of the year. For example, the some 2.2 million bike-sharing trips are average American uses his or her car only taken each month, while more than 3 8 percent of the time, while the average million people from 235 countries power drill is used only 6 to 13 minutes have “couch-surfed ” through home and in its lifetime. apartment sharing. • To house our “stuff,” Americans spend$22 • The sharing economy is now a $110 billion per year on 2.4 billion square feet billion-plus market, according to expert of self storage. and advocate Rachel Botsman. Photo: Adam Fagen @ Flickr Fagen Adam Photo: For the big picture on the emerging sharing world, check out: n a shareable world, things like car sharing, Share or Die: Voices of the Get Lost Generation in the Age of Crisis, “Iclothing swaps, childcare by Malcolm Harris and Neal Gorenflo, eds. co-ops, potlucks, and cohousing The New Sharing Economy, produced by make life more fun, green, and Shareable.net with Latitude Research affordable. When we share, not What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative only is a better life possible, but Consumption, by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers so is a better world.” Janelle Orsi’s website The Sharing Solution —Shareable.net Lisa’s Gansky’s website Mesh: The Pulse of the Sharing Economy Community Action Kit • Guide to Sharing 1 # ACTION IDEA 1 Organize a Community Swap hether it’s a garden hose or a toddler bike, chances are there’s plenty of useful “stuff” sitting neglected within your community. Help people get access to pre-owned items—and give idle Wstuff a second life—by setting up community swaps and marketplaces where you can share and trade goods in a fun, co-operative, and often low-cost setting. (LEFT) A community member takes part in a clothing swap hosted by Pittsburgh-based Give-and-Take. PHOTO: GIVE-AND-TAKE (ABOVE) Toronto residents consume collaboratively at Swapsity’s 2011 Music Movie Eco-Swap. PHOTO: SWAPSITY IDEAS & INSPIRATIONS • Looking for some fun ideas for swapping stuff? Throw a community swap meet. See Start a free box or market. See How to Throw a Community Swap Meet How to Start a Really, Really Free Market and How to (Legally) Open a Gift (Economy) and Really, Really Free Market Flier. Examples include Diggers in New York, Host a seed or crop swap to help Bolinas Free Box, and Telluride Free Box. diversify your farm or garden. See How to Start a Crop Swap, How to Organize Hold a toy swap to help families trade a Community Seed Swap, SeedySunday.org, in outgrown items for new ones. See and Seed Swap Action Planner. How to Throw a Toy Exchange. Click to Watch Suzanne Agasi of ClothingSwap.com shows how to host a clothing swap Hold a book and media swap. Start your own community/ VIDEO at your home. See How to Stage a Media Swap. To set neighborhood sharing website. up a swapping site to support your local See Share Some Sugar, Bright Neighbor, schools, see Swap4Schools. Hey Neighbor!, Streetbank, OhSoWe, Share Tompkins, and ToolzDo. Hold a clothing swap to help people Host a community potluck or food/ At GiftFlow, you can match up community get access to “new-to-you” fashion. recipe swap to broaden your culinary needs with local donations of good and See our video on clothes swapping in experiences. See How to Reinvent the services. California and our step-by-step guide Potluck, The Shareable Feast, How on “Hosting a Community Clothing to Host a Stranger Dinner, How to Host Go online to facilitate free local sharing Swap” (next page). Also see How to a MamaBake Food Swap Session, and or exchange. See craigslist, Host a Clothes Swap Party and Clothes How Hosting a Babyfood Swap Saved Freecycle, Givmo, and Exchango. My Sanity and Fed My Child. Swap Meetups. Community Action Kit • Guide to Sharing 2 # ACTION IDEA 1 STEP BY STEP Hosting a Community Clothing Swap Fun + Friends + Recycling = Clothing Swap Key Steps What is a clothing swap? STEP When, where & why? What’s your purpose? Very simply, a clothing swap Maybe it’s about getting people together for spring closet cleaning. Maybe it’s involves getting a bunch of about1 meeting new people in the community. Or maybe there’s a larger goal, like raising people together to exchange funds for a local charity. Whatever the motivation, identify a larger purpose for your clothing and accessories that swap to give it significance. Then, set a date that gives people (and yourself!) enough they no longer wear, in order time to plan the event and gather items. Also, consider the type of venue—will it be at a to keep the items “circulating” home, a friend’s café or business, or a community space or rental site? longer. Clothing swaps provide a fun way to get community STEP members swapping gently used Spread the word. items in an organized setting. But 2 Get people to sort through their these events aren’t just about closets and drawers for gently used (no recycling—they’re about making stains or rips) clothing and accessories. Let connections, meeting new participants know early on if their sorting people in your community, and and recycling is going to support a cause, as sometimes even philanthropy. this may provide extra motivation for people to part with nicer items. Smaller clothing swaps typically attract around 10–30 people, STEP but you can aim much bigger Plan the event. depending on your intentions, 3 Most clothing swaps last for about resources, and volunteer support. two hours, but the timing really depends on the number of participants: more people means more stuff and more time needed to browse and sample! Also, think about the size of the space you’ll need (including possible fitting rooms) and the amount of time it will take to sort items pre-swap. If it’s a large event, consider asking people to drop off items in advance, and then sign up volunteers to help sort and size items and Give-and-Take Photo: create signage. And of course, leave time for cleanup. STEP Photo: Give-and-Take Photo: Allocate any needed tasks among a small committee. 4 Think about any props, food, and drinks you may want on hand. For a large event, make sure the swap site has restroom facilities and possibly even a kitchen. Consider having mirrors (or even changing tents) available, tables to use for sorting and display, and food and drink. You could organize the event to be a potluck, or maybe you can get a local restaurant or café to donate some treats, especially if it’s a community event to raise money for charity. STEP Establish any ground rules or suggestions for attendees. 5 Maybe it’s a $2–10 fee, with the money going to a local cause or group, or maybe Photo: Wen Lee Wen Photo: it’s a “bring a bag, take a bag” policy. Also, offer a friendly reminder for people to be considerate and not to hoard items, to ensure that the swap is as rewarding as possible. Community Action Kit • Guide to Sharing 3 # ACTION IDEA 1 STEP BY STEP Hosting a Community Clothing Swap Fun + Friends + Recycling = Clothing Swap STEP Day of event. 6 Have a friend or two help you set up the room, or, if you’ve asked people to drop off items in advance, remind volunteers to arrive a half hour to an hour before the event to help sort and arrange items (you can also ask participants to self-sort items as they bring them).