'Collaborative Economy' refers to the production, consumption, or funding models based on the intermediation between suppliers and customers by means of digital platforms that achieve efficient and sustainable use of the existing assets and resources.
The collaborative economy has experienced an exponential growth in the last few years, due to its many benefits. This include:
The products and services offered by systems based on collaborative economy lead to significant cost savings for users.
The collaborative economy is built upon the idea that products can have more than one application. Something that is not useful for you anymore can be of use for someone else, which leads to greater sustainability.
The fact that both products and services have many applications increases the supply in traditional markets.
The collaborative economy retrieves values such as dialogue and solidarity.
What is collaborative consumption?
Users exchange goods and assets
What is collaborative finance?
The well-known crowdfunding concept is a new model that connects users to jointly
fund different projects.
What is collaborative production?
The production means of assets and services are shared.
What is open knowledge?
Promoting the dissemination of knowledge without any legal or administrative barriers
Irregular growth
Some projects have grown too fast and some decisions taken have compromised users' trust.
Consistency is essential for the success of this type of projects.
Don't forget demographic diversity!
The collaborative economy must meet the needs of the social groups that have shown greater interest in participating in collaborative projects: the middle class, women, and elderly people.
More regulation
The collaborative economy is quite new, and that applies to governments and legislators. For that reason, it is vital that companies work in a proactive way to develop a regulatory framework that defines a level playing field:
Just economy
Shared economy is increasingly seen as an evolution of traditional economy. Incorporating and integrating this model in traditional systems can be a true sign of its success.
BookCrossing is a global library that enables users to exchange books they already read. Each book is passed from reader to reader, so there is no need to buy new books. Plus, the paper and ink waste is reduced, as well as the pollution caused by printing. Today, nearly two million people use this service in 132 countries. What else can we share?
It's an initiative that is being developed in several cities around Spain. It consists of renting a fully equipped professional kitchen for private events, workshops or even team-building corporate activities.
Apps like Airbnb or Homestay and some widespread practices such as couch-surfing or home-swap allow travelers from all over the world to find accomodation or even offer their own homes for visitors to stay.
Even though working from home has its advantages, many freelancers miss the conversations and the hustle and bustle of the office. That's why some people have decided to open coworking spaces at their homes, which allows them to make better use of the space available, apart from allowing greater power savings.
There are applications designed to rent designer handbags for a certain period of time at an affordable price. So, apart from making luxury products available for any budget, it avoids excessive consumerism and the waste of raw materials.
It's an app that allows users to rent luxury yatchs. This app connects yatch owners and users at a reasonable price.
There are also services meant to make luxury cars available for motor enthusiasts at a reasonable price. This way, users will be able to drive a Porsche, a Range Rover or a Mercedes for a limited amount of time without having to actually buy them.
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