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The Case for Collaborative Consumption (Links to an external site.)

Still not sure about what collaborative consumption is? Or not clear how it could contribute to sustainable consumption? Over the years, there have been lots of pop culture resources about collaborative consumption and mixed messages about its implications for sustainability. For example, many fashion renting and subscription services have advertised themselves by promoting the message that they can help consumers become more environmentally sustainable (e.g., buying/throwing less clothes), socially sustainable (e.g., being connected to the community of other renters), and economically sustainable (e.g., saving money on buying clothes). Indeed, I've seen that many students do perceive subscription-based businesses as one of the "sustainable" business models.

Yet no one really clearly defined what collaborative consumption is (especially for apparel and fashion products), and whether it can actually make an impact on sustainability. So I did. :) My colleague and I started this research on collaborative apparel consumption in 2017 and have been publishing many research papers since then. Among those research articles, let me share two articles with you so you can have some solid understanding of what collaborative consumption really is, and more importantly, how it might (or might not) contribute to sustainability.

Park and Armstrong 2017.pdf Download Park and Armstrong 2017.pdfPreview the document

Armstrong and Park 2017.pdf Download Armstrong and Park 2017.pdfPreview the document

The first article will provide a good overview of collaborative 'apparel' consumption while the second article will specifically examine how it can be related to sustainability. Read both articles and complete the reading report.