Buczynski - Sharing is good: how to save money, time and resources through collaborative consumption

Praise for Sharing is Good

Sharing is Good is great! Readable and inspiring! It not only gives a good picture of the essentials of the sharing movement, it captures some of the underlying philosophy sharing is not just about trading a few books or clothes, its about creating a new, exciting, inspiring culture. Its about adventure, creativity, trust, connection, caring, social justice, and sustainability.

Cecile Andrews, author, Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community, and the Common Good

Sharing is Good is a perfect primer to the evolving sharing economy

Andy Ruben, cofounder and CEO, yerdle

Beth Buczynski presents a refreshing perspective to collaborative consumption, making a compelling argument that sharing is a key way to address our concerns about the environment, labor, and the economy. In the face of a society obsessed with consuming, Sharing is Good is a great guide to help all of us start consuming less and sharing more.

Randy Paynter, founder, Care2.com

I know from personal experience that its a challenge to balance the warm fuzzies that come from sharing with the practical, pragmatic benefits of making the conscious decision to share more. This book strikes that balance.

Alex Hillman, cofounder, Independents Hall Coworking Space

Sharing is what its all about. Generous and compassionate people are laying the groundwork for an exciting new economy that will lead the way to a sustainable future. Beth Buczynskis handy and informative guide will inspire you to get on board!

Laurence Overmire, author, The One Idea That Saves The World: A Call to Conscience and A Call to Action

Sharing as an economic model has been explored by intellectuals for a long time. As one example, Manuel Castells wrote about collective consumption in the 1970s. But few have actually offered a practical sharing how-to manual for ordinary people, for us, until now. Theres arguably no one better to guide us into the sharing lifestyle than Beth Buczynski, Shareables original collaborative consumption blogger.

Neal Gorenflo, cofounder, Shareable.net

Beth Buczinski has written a comprehensive guide to sharing with sage advice and great examples. In Sharing is Good, she takes the time to really understand and articulate this exploding and game-changing trend that is reshaping our economy.

Liz Elam, producer, the Global Coworking Unconference Conference

Whats this sharing economy thing that everyones talking about? Buczynski breaks it down for you background, how to start, what to watch out for, and even provides a huge list of great resources to get you going. Read this book and ease your worries as you join the revolution.

Caterina Rindi, sharing evangelist and cofounder, mo-foods, a collaborative food business

A comprehensive taxonomy of the Sharing Economy, Sharing is Good leaves us in no doubt that the future is sharing.

Benita Matofska, founder, The People Who Share; Global Sharing Day; and CompareAndShare.com

Beth Buczynskis Sharing is Good is a perfect guidebook to explore sharing tools, services, communities, life and work styles. Save money. Stress less. Live richer.

Lisa Gansky, entrepreneur and best-selling author, The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing

Copyright 2013 by Beth Buczynski.

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

iStock: Marbles AntiMartina, Floortje; Circles SpiffyJ

First printing August 2013.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-746-6

eISBN: 978-1-55092-544-9

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Sharing is Good should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Buczynski, Beth, author

Sharing is good : how to save money, time and resources through collaborative consumption / Beth Buczynski.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-86571-746-6 (pbk.)

1. Cooperation. 2. Sharing--Economic aspects. I. Title.

HD2963.B82 2013 334 C2013-903162-6

Contents

T HE FUTURE IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY, well do things differently there well have to.

Theres no doubt that our future will be shared; with an increasing population on a planet of finite resources, theres simply no alternative. The Sharing Economy is, simply put, a sustainable economy built around the sharing of both human and physical resources. How and how long it takes us to build a Sharing Economy, to convince the mainstream that unless we share we have no future, or for sharing to become ubiquitous, is anyones guess. Whats clear is that by connecting the Sharing Economy, well build it, so connect it we must.

Ive spent three years working without a salary to build a global Sharing Economy movement The People Who Share; running initiatives like Global Sharing Day, now reaching over 70 million people in 192 countries, to take this concept mainstream, to connect the many moving parts in order to build a viable, sustainable, economic system. Im motivated by the fact that not only do I want to build a better world for my children; I want to make sure they have a future.

In this practical guide to the emerging Sharing Economy, Buczynski will take you on a captivating, shareable journey around the world where people are starting to share everything from cars to cabanas, from food to furniture. The rate of growth in the Sharing Economy is extraordinary; the potential for this to become a new sustainable economic model is not just the subject of game-changers dreams, its fast becoming a reality.