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How celebrating a birthday party made it clear to me that sometimes collaborative consumption is mainstream

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a friend’s birthday party. He and his wife are no big fans of cities preferring the outdoor environment of a house in a tiny village south of Bonn, Germany. While I do enjoy

their cosy home and its lovely views of their garden against the backdrop of the nearby forest, getting to their party was one of those few times that I need to worry about finding a way to get there.

 

Working on advancing sustainable lifestyles with the CSCP I have become increasingly aware of the emerging trend collaborative consumption phenomenon in recent years. The distant birthday party presented me with the perfect opportunity to experience the growth of the concept first hand. While sipping some drinks we realised that, of the guests at the party only our hosts, the birthday boy and his wife, were the only people at the party that owned a private automobile. All six of the guests had made their way to the countryside using one of the several car-sharing

 

 

services from the surrounding cities. Every single one of us six had solid jobs in a variety of fields but, by choice, had decided that owning a car of our own was simply not worthwhile.

We shared our experiences of being free from the worries of car insurance or the financial and other commitments that come with ownership and talked about the funniest experiences with cars that we only drive once in a while. Imagining the potential of the sharing economy in a decade’s time, it suddenly made me feel like being on a birthday party in a more sustainable future ten years from now.