Initiatives
Collaborative Consumption

French share their way through recession ... Collaborative consumption seen as a growing web powered economic model based on 'crowd sharing' ... from 'me' to 'oui'

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

French share their way through recession ... Collaborative consumption seen as a growing web powered economic model based on 'crowd sharing'.

The French are responding to Europe's stagnant economy by sharing rather than consuming.

People have seen that, statistically, most people with a power drill use it for 12 seconds each year, so now they are wondering: why bother buying one?

The same principle is being extended to a widening range of goods and services - from children's toys to commuting - saving billions in the process.

Advocates for collaborative consumption describe it as a revival of the old way of doing things – sharing, renting, swapping - but for the internet generation.

Al Jazeera's Charlie Angela reports from Paris.

Source: Al Jazeera