Sharing is Caring…for the Environment

There has been a lot of talk about sharing lately and how the economy and society is moving from ownership to “usership”.
How many things can you list that you own but don’t use on a daily basis? For example, the average use of a power drill is 12 minutes a year, is it really necessary to own one of those…?
65% of all consumers believe we would have a better society and improved quality of life if we shared more and owned less. So on what grounds are the consumers making this assumption and what drives the sharing development?
There are many ways to incorporate a shared economy, it can be as simple as a borrow-lending transaction between individual to running an actual international business. Just look at some of the world’s largest companies, Uber, the world’s largest taxi company owns no vehicles, Facebook creates no content, Alibaba has no inventory and Airbnb have no real-estate.
For generations possession has been the ultimate status symbol but times are changing. Corporations are diminishing and new, unexpected competitors are entering the market such as micro-hotels and restaurants.
A new hybrid market is emerging, where private property is used for business purposes. Thanks to new digital marketplaces, the consumers are becoming producers (prosumers) and liabilities are turned into assets. It is still unclear how these new markets will be regulated but it is certain that they will blur the lines between different industries.
The shared economy is creating new competitors on the market, social dinners are competing with restaurants, Airbnb with hotels, carpooling with rental vehicles and peer-to-peer lending and crowd funding with actual banks.
Another hot topic is the return of community shopping. The concept of food co-operatives was coined back in 1973 when the first food co-op store opened after people had become dissatisfied with the lack of cooperation within society and the desire for good food at fair prices increased. These opinions are returning and community shopping is gaining popularity. The idea behind the co-ops are non-profit and are run by the members. In order to become a member you need to volunteer at the store a couple of hours a month, doing a variation of work that is democratically delegated during members meetings.
There are many driving forces that fuel this development, technology for one is a big player when it comes to peer-to-peer sharing networks.
The increased need for face to face socialization and to be part of a community has also influenced the shared economy as well as the dissatisfaction of the current consumption-focused society.
The shared economy will help us slow down production and decrease waste. By converting to “usership” we can, in the long run, drastically reduce consumption and shorten carbon footprints, moving away for hyper consumption.
SD Trading is supporting the shared economy in a number of ways. We are working together with already existing factories in China and India.  Our production of compostable tableware support the local economy and entrepreneurs. We are one a mission to replace regular disposable tableware and porcelain with borrowed natural material that can return to nature after use.