The rise of collaborative consumption in contrast to individualist hyper consumption seems to be a reflection of an increased understanding of interconnection, and global interdependence. Technological advances, the latest recession, and other global disasters which don't recognize traditional boundaries seems to be catalysts in this process.
“Collaborative consumption gives people the benefits of ownership with reduced personal burden and cost and also lower environmental impact—and it’s proving to be a compelling alternative to traditional forms of buying and ownership.“What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption”, co-authored by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers.
“The central concept of collaborative consumption is simple: Access to goods and skills is more important than ownership of them.” “Danielle Sacks The Sharing Economy
AirBnB
http://www.airbnb.com/
WhipCar - Rent the car next door (UK only at this time)
http://www.whipcar.com
ZipCar - Wheels when you want them (not in Spokane yet)
http://www.zipcar.com/
Land Share - Connecting Growers to People with land to share (UK, Australia and Canada at this time)
http://www.landshare.net/
Ecomodo - Lend and borrow each other's everyday objects, skills and spaces with confidence
http://www.ecomodo.com/
NeighborGoods - Save Money and Resources by sharing stuff with your friends
http://neighborgoods.net/
FreeCycle Spokane YahooGroup - Give your stuff a good home
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleSpokane/
Craigslist Spokane - Buy, sell, or give away your stuff locally
http://spokane.craigslist.org/
Zopa Loans - Cutting out the middlemen, banks "Everyone wins, except the fat cats!" (UK, unfortunately not in US)
http://uk.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/
Timebanking - The time bank links people up to share their skills and help so that it is mutually beneficial. But its main emphasis is in the social sphere - linking people together and building community - not in the economic sphere. Time Banking is a social change movement in 22 countries and six continents.(not yet US)
http://www.timebanks.org/
http://www.timebanks.org/international.htm
