This was the question posed at the inaugural Just Economy Summit hosted by Institute for Ecological Civilization (EcoCiv) and the California Wellbeing Economies Coalition (CWEC) in Sacramento (the state’s capitol). The first weekend of March brought together dozens of organizations and activists working to transform California’s economy in a way that redefines societal success toward shared well-being.

Amanda Janoo, Economics & Policy Lead at Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) says while there have been state-level events around this topic, this was the first in-person gathering for California, the state with the largest GDP in the nation.

But the idea is to look outside the GDP entirely, WEAll emphasizes “a shift in how we seek to live together from seeing ourselves as owners and consumers toward being caretakers and creators of a flourishing world.”

This old versus new way of thinking impacts every aspect of life, from how we see healthcare to housing, public education, and the arts.

With so many different stakeholders coming from varying philosophies, Janoo says she saw a lot of energy and excitement around the potential of building a statewide network. However, there are still open questions on the practicality of supporting each other and facilitating connections among core partners.

“We have organizations whose focuses vary—economic justice, racial justice, the environment—but the major theme was providing a container for connection between the various groups to see if there was interest to develop a state-level network,” she says. 

“Everyone who came was already in this movement in some way to advance economic systems change, so a big question was how do we engage broader audiences.”

The event had two main tracks: one group centered on government and advocating for policy proposals at the state level while the larger group focused more on creating connections and proposing the open questions they were wrestling with. For instance, what if lending was centered on well-being versus short-term business impact? What if lending mechanisms were not independent of the benefit of people but focused on communities?

Megan Anderson serves as project manager for the EcoCiv’s economic division. She says the summit was successful in bringing people from across diverse backgrounds together, especially groups working at the grassroots who don’t always find out about these types of events.

“Many people said they came in with feelings of exhaustion but left with renewed energy and hope,” Anderson says. “Having a space where folks could come together in a way that wasn’t focused on 100% strategy and action items was incredibly valuable. These kinds of events are crucial for helping prevent burnout, but they don’t take place often enough.”

Anderson says the group found unexpected areas of overlap, which can be the basis for working as a coalition going forward. Many of the policy experts at the summit work on behalf of marginalized communities and explicitly represent their needs as they advocate for reform policies in Sacramento.

But Anderson says the conference really showcased two approaches: those who want to work for greater economic justice within the current system and using its methods; and those who want to work to transform or overthrow the current system.

“We imagine the policy group going forward will consist of the former group,” she says. “But the annual California Just Economy Summits, by contrast, will also include people who feel they need to work outside the current system in order to bring about more radical change.”

In both cases, the overarching intention is to work toward forming a coalition—building trust and developing a network to create something more concrete. 

Kevin Bayuk is a worker-owner at LIFT Economy whose work and mission are in direct harmony with California Wellbeing Economies Hub: to support economic solutions and reforms and increase the economic well-being of all California’s residents.

Examples include bringing an Indigenous-led bioregional hemp economy to life, starting with a toolbag produced by Patagonia and enhancing the benefit of compostable food service disposables through an impact accelerator.

LIFT Economy was already supporting the work of summit attendees like TAC Farm, which works to stimulate the economy of a depressed region through the use of interconnected agricultural ventures; and the Sustainable Economies Law Center, whose mission is to cultivate a new legal landscape that supports community resilience and grassroots economic empowerment. Additionally, about a half dozen participants from LIFT Economy’s Next Economy MBA program attended.  

Bayuk says LIFT Economy emerged from the Summit with potential partnerships to explore and a greater sense of connection to projects that were, formerly, unknown to LIFT.

“We already have a relationship with Native Roots Network, but this was the first time we were able to meet in person,” he says. “We will be following up to explore collaborations on their Land Trust and economic development initiatives.”

Keynote Speaker Lindsay Morgan Tracy spoke about Washington State’s leading-edge work to transform economic and governance systems and shared that they had just secured two million dollars in the budget allocated for community assemblies on the topic of environmental and economic justice. 

But beyond the rumblings of sectors in progressive states like Washington and California, the leaders in the Well Being Economy are making headlines in Amsterdam, New Zealand, and Finland while America lags behind.

Janoo says the U.S. is now in a learning and listening space and taking the lead from other countries. While there are so many economic system movements and initiatives within the states, they are often working in a silo. Events like the Just Economy Summit bring stakeholders coming from different philosophies together to find shared principles and values and eliminate the barriers to social and ecological well-being.

And with California’s economy so large, the impacts could resonate with the rest of the country and the world.

Next month, WEALL will bring together state-level coalitions in D.C. for an event organized in partnership with New America. The coalitions come under many different banners but each have established a new definition of progress centered in social and ecological wellbeing; co-created a transformative economic strategy; and center their movements in principles of deliberative, participatory democratic process/governance. Participants include Aina Aloha Economic Futures, Vermont Prosperity Project, Alaska Just Transition, Reimagine Appalachia , People’s Economy Lab,  Virginia Solidarity Economy Network,  WEAll California and Puerto Rico’s Social/Solidary Economy Network.

The post Redefining Economic Success at California’s Just Economy Summit appeared first on Shareable.

Back in 2014, I read an article about the Buy Nothing Project, a collection of independent Facebook groups across the country where members can give and receive freely in their own neighborhoods. The concept was designed to facilitate local gift economies around the world — communities that take care of their local members while conserving their carbon footprints.

I searched for a local group, but, alas, there was nothing remotely near Philadelphia — though there were plenty in other cities around the world. So, naturally, I wanted to see what it would take to start my own. It just took a few days to get permission from Buy Nothing headquarters. They worked with me to narrow down my local area to essentially my zip code. The members poured in — more than 100 in less than 24 hours.

Within a few months the group branched into dozens of local chapters, and soon I was ready to relinquish admin responsibilities and ask other volunteers to take over the day-to-day management. But the beauty of this group was that it already had its own systems and protocols in place — all I had to do was put the wheels in motion for a local chapter.

Today the Philadelphia-area project has grown to thousands of members and more than 25 local groups offering up everything from strollers to string cheese. Some items are in brand new condition and some are on their last legs, but there is a taker for almost everything.

Over the years, I have given and received everything from clothing, toys, and furniture to vegetables, crutches, and leftover house paint. The groups also foster an amazing sense of community. We have collected items for local families in need, and when I found myself in need of support, my Buy Nothing Group rallied with food offerings for my meal train.

It’s hard to even imagine the amount of waste that has been saved from both item reuse and deterring the purchase of new items. Additionally, members can save thousands of dollars, dozens of trips to stores, and immeasurable time that may have been spent searching for a sofa or evening gown.

Here is what you need to know about starting a Buy Nothing Group in your community:

Step 1: Make sure group doesn’t already exist by checking the list at buynothingproject.org. If there isn’t one, you must contact the administration through the website and follow protocol — “Buy Nothing Project” is trademarked, and you will be happy for their guidance. Additionally, the exchanges are typically done on Facebook so all members can see the transactions.

Step 2: Set clear boundaries. Borders can be tricky and may evolve over time. My group started by covering a wide swatch of Philadelphia but due to exponential membership growth, it has split up several times and now covers less than one square mile. However, if you live in a suburban or rural area where population is not as dense and car transportation is more common, you may find your group covering several towns. Members must prove they live within the boundaries (generally only confirmation through Facebook messenger is necessary) and may only join one group.

Step 3: Give freely from your own abundance and only take what you can use. No one is keeping score and giving is not based on financial need. Everyone is equal, and choosing who to gift when an item is in high demand may be selected at random, based on pick up time, through picking a number,however the gifter would like to choose.

Step 4: Don’t use this as a platform to buy or sell things. There are plenty of other groups for that. Make sure to read the pinned documents for some of the basic rules of group decorum.

Step 5: Share your skills. You can also help someone move, unclog their drain, or teach them piano. Gifts don’t always have to be tangible and may be service-based.

Step 6: Show appreciation. You don’t need to reciprocate with anything but a simple “Thank you” goes a long way. (Although when someone brought fresh-baked pizzelles as a thank you for my space heater, I wasn’t going to not eat them.)

Check out these related articles:

• 8 Facebook-powered movements to help you buy less and share more
• Beverly Free Box helps neighbors build community and fight waste
• New book from Buy Nothing Project expands on gift economy philosophy

The post How to start and participate in a Buy Nothing group appeared first on Shareable.

What do co-ops do differently?

Erbin Crowell, Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA), leads the regional federation of food co-ops across the New England and New York region. He believes the key to co-ops’ resilience while other business models struggle is the inherent community buy-in.

People understand that when you shop at a food co-op, you are doing more than getting healthy food for yourself and your family. You are also sustaining good jobs, a market for local producers, and a more inclusive way of doing business.—Erbin Crowell, Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association

He says that because grocery co-ops are owned by the community — the people who actively shop and work there — members have a deeper level of commitment to the success of the business.

Crowell was hired in 2010 by a group of food co-op leaders mostly in the Connecticut River Valley to coordinate the incorporation and development of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association. Their goal was to create an organization that would enable them to work more closely together to contribute to shared success. They also hoped to strengthen the regional food system and grow the cooperative economy.

Since then, they have grown to a network of more than 40 food co-ops and startup initiatives, locally owned by 164,000 members across New England and New York State, generating over $382 million in shared revenue. Their four-person staff focuses on facilitating peer collaboration, education, training, marketing, and food system development. About a quarter of their membership is startup initiatives, reflecting community interest in cooperative enterprise and a more healthy, just, and sustainable food system.

“I think that much of the growth among our food co-ops during the pandemic came from more people doing their shopping close to home where they had the opportunity to remember that their local food co-op wasn’t just about healthy food,” Crowell says. 

In 2020, nearly 13,000 people joined their local grocery co-ops, reflecting growing interest in building community and supporting one another during challenging times.

Local co-ops have also been responsive and innovative during the pandemic, Crowell says, helping to keep shoppers and workers safe with services like online ordering, curbside pickup, and special shopping hours for older and immunocompromised shoppers.

“Food co-ops are also community hubs, sources of sustainable jobs, outlets for local producers, and community infrastructure,” he says.

Crafting a sustainable recovery

Crowell says that as they emerge from the pandemic, part of their task will be ensuring that people remember that choosing their local grocery co-op is a way of building and sustaining more vibrant, resilient, and participatory communities and more healthy and sustainable regional food systems.

NFCA has also been active in education and solutions surrounding the Build Back for Impact campaign in coordination with the National Cooperative Business Association. The goal was to create an opportunity for co-ops to communicate what makes them different and how communities can use them as they emerge from the pandemic, and rebuild in a way that is more just, inclusive, and sustainable.  

Our co-ops took the opportunity of this campaign to celebrate at a challenging time and inspire people for the future. We wanted to share an optimism that we can make the world better, together.—Erbin Crowell

For example, he says, two of their co-ops completed major expansions during the pandemic, increasing their ability to employ more people, support more local producers, and provide more people with healthy food. They also took the opportunity to educate their communities about how food co-ops are just one part of the cooperative economy. In fact, when considering farmer co-ops, worker co-ops, credit unions, mutual insurance, housing co-ops, and energy co-ops, one in three people are already co-op members.

Resilient by nature

Seeing co-ops thrive during such a tumultuous time, it makes sense that the modern cooperative movement itself was launched in response to societal change.

During the Industrial Revolution – as a reaction to economic upheaval, dislocation of local economies, and concentration of wealth and control – people began to work together to create a viable economic alternative based on member ownership, democratic control, and meeting community needs.

Most of the present food co-ops in this region emerged during the 1970s and ’80s, as people worked together to access healthy, organic, and bulk foods, and began to advance new ideas such as fair trade. Today, the members of the NFCA are member-owned, democratically-governed community grocery stores ranging in size from large, multiple storefront retailers with thousands of members to smaller markets with just a few hundred. 

The bulk of these co-ops have been in operation for more than 20 years, though some such as the Putney Food Co-op and the Co-op Food Stores (Hanover Consumer Co-op), have been active since the 1930s and ’40s.

The future is co-operative

Keystone values among the NFCA collective include developing local skills and assets, creating leadership and professional development opportunities, regional efficiencies through the pooling of purchasing power and other economic activities, and the support of vibrant, participatory, and engaged communities.

The past two years have seen these member co-ops working to support one another, sharing innovations and ideas, and strengthening their communities at a challenging time. 

Looking forward, the NFCA is working to demonstrate the role of cooperative enterprise in building stronger communities, supporting the growth and development of member co-ops, and reaching out to farmers and likeminded groups to advance shared goals of a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. 

Check out these related articles:

• Leveraging collaboration to tap into the potential of local foods
• It all starts with food: How co-ops are transforming Quebec’s food deserts
• How co-op accelerators and incubators are supercharging a worker-owned economy

The post How grocery co-ops across New England thrived despite the pandemic appeared first on Shareable.

In December 2019, the company was operational in 10 cities covering the major tourist destinations across the United States.

They were entering a bright future — there was talk about Cloud of Goods being the next Uber and Punrsi Abeywickrema, the company’s CEO, was meeting with investors to raise the Series A round of funding to scale the business model as the world’s largest equipment rental marketplace.

Crisis hits

But in early 2020, travel suddenly and dramatically slowed in the U.S. due to COVID-19.

Cloud of Goods missed its revenue targets as everyone canceled their travel plans.

They received an urgent call from a staff member in Las Vegas saying that website credit card processing had been blocked by their card processor due to excessive chargebacks.

Cloud of Goods COO Shaun Arora said, at that point, with most of their inventory rented out across the country, they decided the safety and health of their drivers was more important than collecting the equipment.

“We just let go of our equipment and stopped all delivery operations to try to keep our drivers from being exposed to the virus,” he says.

The following day, the Cloud of Goods bank account went negative overnight.

“While the vast majority of our employees and customers were sympathizing with us and understood that we had no options to make them whole, some did not understand that there was nothing we could do,” he says.

It was an extremely difficult few months, and the company wasn’t sure if or how it was going to be able to pick up the pieces. With travel halted and then slowed to a trickle, it felt like Cloud of Goods could become another casualty of the pandemic.

Time to pivot

By October 2020, the world was getting comfortable dealing with the pandemic, news about a potential vaccine gave humanity new hope, and people in the U.S. were starting to get back in touch with Cloud of Goods, asking when they were re-opening.

As they saw website traffic going up again, the Cloud of Goods team decided to explore a pivot to a new business model.

With no cash for inventory, they chose to accelerate the company to its original long-term vision, which was an equipment rental marketplace in which users would provide the rental equipment instead of the company.

Abeywickrema reached out to Scott Melton at Gateway Rentals in Orlando, Florida, and explained the model to him. Cloud of Goods had built a strong brand and search engine traffic over the years. They were going to use these to help new and existing local rental agencies accelerate their growth.

Cloud of Goods executes a unique gig and sharing economy strategy

Cloud of Goods rebuilt the platform to support users like Melton who wanted to start or expand a local rental business. They soft-launched this new gig and sharing economy marketplace strategy on the first day of 2021.

They started getting orders within hours.

Their newly acquired artificial intelligence, search engine optimization, data engineering, and content-marketing capabilities helped Cloud of Goods grow much faster than before COVID-19.

As the first local rental business to sign with Cloud of Goods, Melton already had the experience of supplying wheelchair, scooter, and stroller rentals in one of the most popular family vacation destinations in the world: Orlando, Florida, home to Disney World.

“Being the first partner, we worked through a lot of obstacles, but we got through them very well by open communication addressing any issues and resolving them immediately,” Melton says.

In the midst of his busiest holiday season yet, he says he expects business to continue to grow rapidly.

“The only hold back right now is the supply chain for new products, which is a global issue for everyone,” he says.

Melton says most customers are thrilled to learn they can rent mobility equipment for the theme parks and vacations, and it’s been wonderful to see the relief it brings people when they receive their delivery and know they can enjoy their vacations with minimal hassle.

Arora says filling this gap during a huge increase in demand for rental items has helped them create more jobs for local people and also serve a larger user base.

The pivot starts to pay off

“It’s been a tough 20 months with many ups and downs, but having gone through that, we are more resilient than ever,” Arora says. “Covid has made the Cloud of Goods business model so much more efficient, we are a better unit because of all the turbulence we faced.”

Less than a year into the re-launch, Cloud of Goods has partnered with over 50 local rental businesses, expanded to 90 cities across the United States, and just launched in its first international city — Cancun, Mexico.

“We see a lot of enthusiasm around the concept of products as a service,” Arora says. “As the sharing economy evolves, many consumers are starting to reconsider ownership of goods, and e-commerce and retailers are starting to respond.”

Now that Cloud of Goods has evolved into a marketplace matching potential renters with rental businesses, they plan to become the largest e-commerce platform for rentals in the world. This time, hopefully, without interruption.

Interested in starting a rental business on Cloud of Goods’ platform? If so, click here to learn about setting up your own rental shop.

Editor’s note: this article is part of a series sponsored by Cloud of Goods.

The post How Cloud of Goods became both a gig and sharing economy platform during COVID-19 appeared first on Shareable.

However, Facebook has also been an ideal platform for the growth of social movements built on connections and resource sharing, often at the grassroots and hyperlocal levels. Below are eight Facebook-powered movements that can help you buy less and share more.

1. The Buy Nothing Project

One of Shareable’s most talked about Facebook-based movements is Buy Nothing. The first Buy Nothing group was launched as an experimental gift economy by two friends in a small town outside of Seattle in 2013. The movement has expanded to thousands of local groups across the world, inspiring people to share freely where they live. The sprawling movement inspired the founders to publish a book in 2020,  “The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan,” and the Buy Nothing Project is in the beginning stages of launching an independent app designed to allow the movement to branch out beyond the confines of Facebook. In the meantime, use the search function in Facebook’s groups page to find a group near you.

2. Make It New

For folks who want to make the most of their Buy Nothing or other secondhand finds, Make It New is a Facebook group for upcycled and repurposed inspiration. At 29,000 members strong, this is the place to share curbside finds and thrift store rescues for feedback and inspiration.

3. Zero Waste Collaboration

A common thread among Facebook salvage groups is waste reduction, and the “zero-waste movement” has its own slew of Zero Waste Groups with tens of thousands of members. Facebook groups like Journey to Zero Waste, with more than 110,000 members, offer advice for shopping in bulk and choosing products with resourceful lifecycles. There are also a variety of hyperlocal Zero Waste groups that can direct you to tools in your own communities. 

4. Plastic Free Journeys

For some people the first step in moving toward a Zero Waste lifestyle is plastic reduction, as plastic is arguably one of the most environmentally harmful yet ubiquitous materials. Groups like Plastic Free Living Tips & Tricks are dedicated to helping people identify ways to reduce their plastic use and live a more sustainable lifestyle.

5. Free Plant Exchanges

Due to the nature of foliage, free plant exchange groups are generally hyperlocal. Free Plants Exchange is a good place to find links to local groups, or simply search for “free plant exchange” in your community. These are a great way to expand your indoor and outdoor gardens through the sharing of bulbs, seeds, cuttings, and full-size plants!

6. Mutual Aid Network

Facebook has also been a vibrant hub for the concept of Mutual Aid, comprehensive resource sharing and exchange focused on symbiotic support of people locally and globally. Mutual Aid Network is a global Facebook group focused mostly on exploring the concept. But there is a network of local, independently run Facebook groups created for neighborhoods and/or for folks most in need including disabled and underserved communities. Use Facebook group search to find a mutual aid group near you. 

7. Social Streets

Social Streets are Facebook groups that connect neighbors on a particular street for social connection and neighborhood improvement. Started in Bologna circa 2013, the movement has spread all over Italy and even outside of it through hundreds of locally-managed groups. The NY Times article about the movement says that it transformed the original Social Street into an urban village from an socially disconnected urban neighborhood. Want to start your own Social Street? Shareable has got you covered. Check out our Social Streets how-to guide here and the organization’s English language guide.

8. COVID-19 Vaccine Matchmaking 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also inspired new ways to use Facebook groups to help others, including COVID Vaccine Matchmaker groups. In Pennsylvania, a group sprung up in response to the plight of older and less technically inclined people in need of vaccine appointments. Through tips, tricks, and even personal scheduling, the group has helped thousands of Pennsylvanians secure appointments.

Related stories: 

• How to start and participate in a Buy Nothing group 
• New book from Buy Nothing project expands on gift economy philosophy
• How to set up a mutual aid fund

The post 8 Facebook-powered movements to help you buy less and share more appeared first on Shareable.

You’re likely already familiar with some of the climate crusaders on the frontlines, like Jane Fonda, Ted Danson, Robert Redford, and Daryl Hannah, who have been boots-on-the-ground environmental activists for years. 

Leonardo DiCaprio has his own robust environmental foundation, while Mark Ruffalo –one of the most vocal celebrity voices against fracking – co-founded The Solutions Project, which aims to help people transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. Adrian Grenier (“Entourage”) is passionate about ocean health and focuses on the problems with plastic straws and other throwaway items through his ocean conservation foundation Lonely Whale. 

But there are lesser-known eco-conscious and resource-sharing initiatives by celebrities using their influence for good in both their professional and personal lives. 

Celebrities launching innovative businesses using repurposed and sustainable materials include Pharrell Williams‘ brand Bionic Yarn, which recycles marine plastics into apparel, bags, and footwear and Woody Harrelson’s paper company, Step Forward Paper, made from 80% wheat instead of trees. 

U2’s Bono and wife Ali Hewson’s Edun fashion line uses eco-friendly materials sourced and manufactured in Africa to promote fair trade, while Miranda Kerr (Kora Organics), Josie Maran (Josie Maran Cosmetics), Jessica Alba  (www.honest.com), and Kristen Bell (Hello Bello) put their stamp on natural, eco-conscious beauty and personal care products. 

Other celebrities are using their influence to encourage more sustainable purchasing and embracing the sharing economy. 

Actress Nathalie Kelley, known for her role in The Fast and the Furious, is in the midst of her year-long  #NoNewClothes challenge. In addition to only buying second-hand or renting clothes, she is also declining new clothes gifted from fashion brands. And this past September, Jane Fonda vowed to never buy a new piece of clothing again!

“Orange is the New Black’s” Alysia Reiner is a dedicated eco-influencer who co-founded the zero waste womenswear label LIVARI and lends her name to fashion rental site Wardrobe, offering up her own covetable fashions for temporary use. 

Celebrities including Katie Holmes, Awkwafina, and Bella Hadid have all utilized Rent The Runway for designer rentals, discouraging single-use purchases for fancy frocks. 

Kendall Jenner, Woody Harrelson, John Leguizamo, and Naomi Watts have all been spotted using CitiBike, the bike-share service in Manhattan.

Plenty of celebrities have been spotted in car shares like Lyft and Uber – and actress Gabrielle Union even allowed an Uber driver to use her bathroom, quite a sharing experience! 

Whether it’s setting an example by simply living resourcefully or founding a national climate initiative, these celebrities keep the environment in mind – and you never know when you’ll be literally sharing their shoes!

The post 25 Celebrities Embracing Eco-Stewardship and the Sharing Economy  appeared first on Shareable.

When I read an article about the Buy Nothing Project — a local gift economy concept executed through a collection of independent Facebook groups across the country ­— in 2014, I immediately took the simple steps to start a group in Philadelphia.

Within a few months the group branched into dozens of local chapters across the city and suburbs, and grew to thousands of members. Today there are thousands of Buy Nothing groups all over the world, boasting more than one million members and 5,000 highly active volunteers.

The idea was first incepted by friends Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller in 2013 in their small town off the coast of Seattle. The pair met through their local Freecycle group and experimented with a new lending library model. The first iteration of the Buy Nothing Project was as a weekly, in-person meeting on a picnic table in a local park where neighbors brought whatever they had in abundance — mostly produce and homemade foods.

Their new book, The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously, maps their journey from concerned and resourceful citizens testing the limits of neighborly kindness, to leaders of a whole new mindset in the evolving sharing economy.

I recently spoke with Liesl Clark to learn more about how the project and the book came about. 

Paige Wolf: How did the first group come about and how did it grow so fast?

 Liesl Clark: As we grew our regular meet-ups, we realized we could combine all of these elements in a Facebook group for our neighbors. We wouldn’t be rained out of the park, and we’d be able to see each other’s profile images and how many mutual friends we had in common, which enables the crucial element of trust to grow. We’d also be able to share stories with each other, since stories are one of the keys to helping people see the layers of value in items that come from each other instead of straight from a factory. We idealistically believed that we were somehow reducing the amount of waste — and therefore plastics — that could eventually end up in the environment.

The Buy Nothing movement grew so quickly the summer of 2013 that we had over 100 members before we’d even had a chance to post much about our mission! By the end of the summer, we established 11 more Buy Nothing Project communities, and by New Year’s we had launched 79 local gift economies, reaching into five states, each with the same simple mission of encouraging members to share more with those who live immediately nearby.

How do you manage overseeing all these groups?

We help lead several online groups that provide free training, group development, language translation and accessibility of our documents, and communication between the international team of volunteers. We’re also local admins for a Buy Nothing group in our own neighborhood.

In the beginning, we were part of each Buy Nothing Project group around the world so we could answer questions about the mission and rules. Over time — and a few thousand groups later — we realized that even that much presence wasn’t sustainable, and it also led to way too much centering of our voices. We have always wanted the Buy Nothing Project movement to empower everyone to speak for themselves and to participate fully as themselves, building local gift economies that meet local needs and wants. 

We’re very excited to say that, over the past year, with a lot of help from other Buy Nothing Project volunteers, we’ve moved to an open-resource model. All of the foundational documents anyone needs to start their own Buy Nothing Project gift economy will soon be freely available on our website. We also have volunteers running free training sessions and helping people to set up their groups. We’ve become an incubator and a gift economy library of sorts, uniting people with the resources they need to bring the Buy Nothing Project to life for their own communities.

We’re proud that the Buy Nothing Project is non-monetized and all-volunteer-run, but that also comes at a cost. Our movement is less diverse than it should be, and those of us who can volunteer experience negative impacts on our livelihood, families, relationships and the ability to pursue other interests. This is another reason we were excited to write a book. We need a sustainable network of gift economies, and the most sustainable thing we can think of is to help everyone cultivate a ‘Buy Nothing, Get Everything’ mindset, to become their own personal, traveling, 24/7, gift economy agents of change.

We’re also working on developing our own social media platform with a purpose, called Share On Our Platform (SOOP) that will facilitate giving, receiving and sharing of all sorts of resources and gifts of self.  

How did the book come about?

When we met Neeti Madan of Sterling Literistic, we found a working partner who understood the tenets of the Buy Nothing Project, and helped us see that we could write a book that inspires people to share outside of the project. She encouraged us to write more about our philosophy and the tools we’ve developed over the years to live in a more equitable, circular economy. We want to set everyone up for success, not just in giving, asking and sharing gratitude, but in many other ways that aren’t included in Buy Nothing Project groups — rethinking, reusing, reducing, refusing, for starters. 

What can folks learn in the book related to the lessons learned from the Buy Nothing groups? 

We wrote this book to pass on lessons we’ve learned ourselves about how to reframe our relationships with our stuff, and how to use what we have to build social capital and, hence, a more generous world.

The book looks at each of our actions — giving, asking, reusing, making, fixing, lending, borrowing and expressing gratitude — and provides some psychological insight into why these actions can bring about a greater good, both for individuals and for communities. We end with the vision, gathered from research conducted at Harvard’s Study of Adult Development, that one of the keys to longevity and happiness is “generativity” — giving of ourselves, mentoring, helping, gift giving.

How does this book go beyond the concept of the groups?

We move well beyond the concept and mission of the Buy Nothing Project groups by offering a toolbox for each individual to share from their bounty, wherever they are. We don’t have to be on Facebook to share when we’re traveling or visiting our parents who are downsizing their possessions, for example. We aim to help people learn how to “pop-up share” wherever we might be — with people we meet on vacation where we pass along kids’ beach toys we don’t want to carry back home, or with co-workers in the lunch room where we’re all in the regular business of sharing excess garden produce.

We delve deeply into looking at our stuff in new ways, including all of the creative ways to prevent it from heading to the landfill, and ways that your unwanted stuff can actually add to your social capital in your community. 

We have fun in the book, providing a list of 50 everyday things we don’t buy (think paper towels and garbage bags), and 50 things we regularly share (like padded envelopes and silica gel) to give readers inspiration to get creative. The book, unlike the Buy Nothing Project groups, walks you through a seven-step challenge to Buy Nothing — with some exceptions, of course, like food and (ahem) books, and paying your bills. We’ve tested the ideas around this challenge in a Facebook group that has over 15,000 members and they’re all sharing about their experiences in buying less and living large. 

Is there anything you should never try to give/receive in the groups?

The only things you might want to refrain from sharing, in any giving scenario, are things that are literally illegal to give away. 

There are so many inspiring Buy Nothing group stories! Could you share a couple of your favorites?

There’s the story of a community that threw a Buy Nothing wedding for a couple that didn’t have the resources [for] a wedding. It was put together in a matter of days, with community members donating their gifts (a wedding dress, a ring, flowers, potluck food), talents (a justice of the peace, a DJ, a wedding photographer) and presence (the whole community showed up to celebrate)! That’s a great example of many individual acts of sharing and giving that added up to a community-wide event that brought everyone together to celebrate a young couple’s union.

Another story we absolutely love is about our friend Kate. She was in hospice with a long-term eating disorder, and there was little to be done for her beyond her own will to live. She reached out to the community, knowing it was her last chance at survival, and asked for the gift of people’s company to play Scrabble with her, or do puzzles — anything to keep her mind from stopping her from eating — as she painstakingly ate her meals that brought her back to life. She needed company to distract her from her own mental illness, and our community stepped up, one person at a time, showing up to sit with her [and] play with her, as she re-fed herself to a healthy recovery, gaining one pound at a time. It was an incredibly inspirational time for all of us to watch her resilient spirit soar as she wrote in the Buy Nothing group about how the community “literally saved my life.” 

The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously will be released April 14, 2020 and is available for preorder on Amazon.

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Abeywickrema’s company Cloud of Goods launched in 2016 to deliver rental equipment to vacation destinations. It turns out that transporting mobility devices is not only complicated and expensive but it can also be impossible. It’s free to check a wheelchair with airlines but they are sometimes damaged in the process. Most airlines refuse to accept electronic mobility devices because they have lithium batteries.

“When we launched Cloud of Goods, we didn’t think wheelchairs and electric scooters would be our primary vertical but we found this is the main problem we are solving, and we are growing quickly in this niche because of that,” Abeywickrema said.

As the last of the Baby Boomers hit retirement age, we are seeing an unprecedented swell in the aging population. The share of households with mobility devices has grown from about six percent in 1990 to eight percent in 2010. By 2025, 13 percent of households are expected to have at least one.

Cloud of Goods is giving people with a disability more mobility while traveling, and even the chance to explore places they didn’t think possible.

Robin Oglesby-Harris and her best friend wanted to take their mothers from Phoenix to Vegas to celebrate the new year. The pair used Cloud of Goods to rent scooters to help their mothers, 75 and 80, traverse the strip.

“We went up and down that strip and the battery still had life when we got back to our room!” Ogelsby-Harris said. 

Customers reserve equipment from Cloud for Goods on an online portal and have it delivered to their hotel, airport, or other destination. Gear starts at $6 a day.

Abeywickrema said a big chunk of business came via travel agents and concierges but others were parents who do not want to transport cumbersome baby gear and campers who want to “try before they buy” all the equipment for a new experience.

Creating the world’s largest pool of shared household goods

This is not Abeywickrema’s first sharing business. In 2008, while borrowing a wheelbarrow from a neighbor, he hit on the idea of a peer-to-peer rental service for household goods. His system allows him to control the supply and cater to consumer needs, which he calls the “access economy.” He is currently working on a model to create the world’s largest pool of shared household goods.

“I believe the Sharing Economy 2.0 is really the underlying need for access, and we are using modern technology to make this easier for people,” he said.

“We get a lot of messages over the holiday season from people who want to rent kitchen equipment and items for large parties, so we are looking into filling that need,” he says.

Cloud of Goods operates in San Francisco, Orlando, Anaheim, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, and New Orleans with pilots in Atlanta and Washington, DC. The company has just passed 50,000 transactions and plans to expand globally in 2020.

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This post is part of our 2020 editorial series on libraries of things. Download the free ebook from the series here.

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One solution growing in popularity as part of both the sharing economy and zero-waste movements is the Zero Waste Party Pack.  The concept is simple: create one all-purpose kit of serving supplies, utensils, and even décor that can be borrowed and reused in a neighborhood or community group.

The concept was popularized in places like Palo Alto, California, where the city launched the Zero Waste Party Pack initiative in 2012. The city distributed 22 party packs throughout the city, which were hosted by volunteer Zero Waste Block Leaders. Any resident of Palo Alto can checkout a party pack by contacting a nearby block leader through the city’s website.

In Narberth, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia, the town’s Civic Association hosts its own shareable kit to promote sustainability. At the organization’s events, guests use the collection of cloth napkins and real silverware, and association members have dining reusables available for loan (one has 50+ cloth napkins, another member has a 150-piece utensil set, another has a large set of plates, another with tablecloths, etc.). The board is moving toward a more formal “lending library” process to encourage more residents and organizations to ditch the disposables and use shared materials for events.

In Washington D.C., one nonprofit will even bring the kit directly to you and pick it up for cleaning! GreenThinker DC will drop off enough supplies for 50 people within the District of Columbia plus a 20-mile radius. Founded in 2019 to promote low-waste living, GreenThinker DC is also building a library of party décor through donations.

Philadelphia resident Tanya Seaman started her own zero-waste kit in 2010 when she was organizing a board retreat for a local neighborhood organization. To avoid disposable waste, she bought three sets of utensils and 36 dinner plates. She has gone on to lend the items for several neighborhood occasions, including pot lucks and block parties.

“When I am invited to a party and the host mentions they want to make it as zero-waste as possible, I offer to bring them,” Tanya says. “Even if people don’t specify an interest, I still make the offer!”

Why create a zero-waste party pack?

Single-use plastics in landfills can leak harmful pollutants into the watershed and plastics on the tops of landfills can be carried away by the wind. A full 32 percent of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually is left to flow into our oceans, the equivalent of pouring one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. Even if they remain in the landfills, just one ubiquitous Red Solo Cup could take 450 years to decompose!

In addition to reducing disposable waste, you can help your community save money on party and event planning.

How to set up a zero-waste party pack for your community:

What is in a zero-waste party pack?

Stackable, durable dishes and plates are ideal. Depending on your bandwidth, you could create a pack to serve anywhere from 20-200 people! Fifty is a general guideline for shareable use. Forks, spoons and knives don’t need to match — nor do the dishes if you want to have a shabby chic aesthetic. A few tablecloths and a set of cloth napkins in dark colors are best for avoiding stains. Leftover banners and other decorative décor can be a fun and welcome addition to your party kit — after all, a “Congratulations” or “Happy Birthday” sign has infinite uses!

How do you pay for it?

You may not even have to! It’s likely that you and your like-minded friends and neighbors can put a party pack together by pooling your resources. Those dishes passed down from grandma in the box, the extra cutlery from takeout (if you want to reuse plastic), the tablecloths you purchased for that one party — you may have the pieces to get started already at your fingertips. If you need to purchase additional items, you could be the generous donor, ask your friends and neighbors to go in on the set or reach out to a green-minded department of your local government or civic association for assistance. 

How does it work?

The party pack can be hosted by a generous individual or through a community organization gathering space like a recreation center. In most cases, folks borrow the box, wash the dishes and fabrics, and return them when they are done.

How do you promote the service?

If you are interested in being the party pack host, you’ll need a way to let others know it is available. Options for sharing include community civic associations, church bulletin boards, and local Buy Nothing or Zero Waste community groups on Facebook or other social media. You can also reach out to like-minded organizations — like your city or township’s department of sustainability — to let them know about your plans and see if they would like to partner, host, or promote!

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This post is part of our Winter 2019 editorial series on waste reduction. Get our free ebook on this series: “Beyond Waste: Community Solutions to Managing Our Resources.” Shareable is a partner of this project with Greenpeace. 

Take a look at the other articles in the series:

• Celebrate the radical power of DIY during MAKE SMTHNG Week
• Communities worldwide prepare to host MAKE SMTHNG Week events
• Fashion Detox Challenge invites people to pause, reflect and change
• How the MyMizu app is creating community and fostering sustainability in Japan
• Right to Repair movement invites us to review the way we produce and consume electronics
• From Oakland to Utrecht, sustainability-focused maker villages unite artisans for creative exchange
• Using ancient values to solve modern problems at the Eunpyeong Sharing Center
• Community cupboards feed neighborhoods despite legal hurdles

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In 2017, the city of Vienna created a funding program focused on subsidizing private and business cargo bikes. One part of this subsidy was used to introduce a cargo bike rental program for various neighborhoods, organized and managed by local stores and the communities themselves.

The Vienna Mobility Agency, a municipal department of the city, was given the task of searching for appropriate locations and operators and subsequently installing the system.

In July 2017, the “Grätzlrad Wien” (which translates roughly to “cargo bike Vienna”) program, an online platform, started its services, with full support from the city administration. Cargo bikes are now available in 13 neighborhoods and have had more than 2,000 bookings as a climate-friendly and free alternative for people running daily errands.

According to the Vienna Mobility Agency, users have ranged from DJs cycling to their concerts, film teams renting bikes for their movies, and parents trying cargo bikes for the first time. They are a wonderful mode of transportation for carrying small children, groceries, small furniture, and even pets.

Renters choose and book the bikes online, and with a 50 Euros refundable deposit, they can rent them for up to 24 hours, with some operators offering them for the whole weekend.

Kathrin Ivancsits, director of media relations and campaigns for the Vienna Mobility Agency, says the agency works as an intermediary between citizens, the administration, and politicians to make walking and cycling in the city easier and safer.

In 2017, the agency brought the European Cycle Logistics Conference to Vienna and developed public cargo bike funding for the city.

The Vienna Mobility Agency also publishes a “bicycle report” survey every two years, establishing ideal bicycle service points and public bicycle pumps. Additionally, they hold cycling workshops for women, children, and senior citizens.

One of the Grätzlrad service points is hosted by MO.Point, an Austrian company that plans, implements, and operates shared mobility solutions on behalf of municipalities and real estate developers. MO.Point sponsors one of the bike stations, the “Grätzlrad Nordbahnhof,” in Vienna’s 2nd district. They also operate several “mobility points” around the city, where consumers can rent vehicles such as e-cars, e-kickboards, e-bikes or e-cargobikes.

Stefan Arbeithuber, Managing Partner at MO.Point Mobilitätsservices, says one of the challenges is that a condition for the subsidized program was that hosts offer the cargo-bikes for free. Due to the frequent usage, the costs for maintenance were higher than calculated and even exceeded the initial purchase price of the cargo-bike itself.

“Nonetheless, we do see the program as very positive, because it created awareness,” Arbeithuber says. “As a private mobility operator, we believe that subsidies are very attractive to implement and steer these new mobility offers. But to be feasible in the long run, the business models must work without subsidies.”

Both Arbeithuber and Ivancsits have witnessed the Grätzlrad growing in popularity and in visibility.

“Cargo Bikes are widely seen in the city of Vienna because the need for sustainable logistics and transportation is being taken more seriously by people living in the city, the media and politicians,” Ivancsits says.

Ivancsits says cargo bike subsidies are actually quite common in Europe, and have been implemented in Basel, Switzerland; Salzburg, Austria; Bologna, Italy; and München, Germany.

Expansion plans for the Grätzlrad program depend on both continued funding and the willingness of operators. Currently the program is being evaluated and analyzed by a study with the Vienna University of Technology, taking in feedback by both the operators and the users.

“We aim to learn specifically [how] people use Grätzlrad and whether it helps to forgo car-use,” Ivancsits says. “We are also evaluating the operators experience, as they voluntarily rent out the cargo bikes in addition to their core business, which is generally running a shop or a restaurant.”

The results will provide indications about the future development of the project, which currently covers a wide watch of central Vienna. 

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