Renting to promote sustainability: The planet's smartest choice.
By Ingrid Azeredo – 5 minute read
How renting to be sustainable can transform habits for a Sustainable Future.
New year, new habits. It’s that time to set goals to work toward for the next 12 months again.
While New Year’s resolutions don’t always bring out the best in people due to the high expectations they carry, we can still aim to set realistic goals with a constructive outlook.
This applies to both personal matters and those that affect the community. It is important to think about how our small, unconscious actions affect society. Every action matters. The key to setting resolutions for 2025 is to make them meaningful and realistic.
Many people choose to focus on goals that boost their health, such as drinking more water or committing to daily exercise. Others may lean toward random acts of kindness. But for the latter, a common thought might be: “When Things are messed up on a grand scale, what are we supposed to do?”
Dave Publicover, AMC’s senior staff scientist, explains: “It’s easy to doubt whether our actions can truly make a difference in reducing climate change. But individual actions and choices, when multiplied by millions of households, can collectively have a major impact.”
To set achievable resolutions and embrace a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle this year, let’s explore how overconsumption impacts both the environment and our well-being.
Research shows that we are using our planet’s resources 1.7 times faster than they can regenerate. This means that in the long run, we’d need 1.7 Earths to sustain our current levels of consumption, which is unsustainable.
“Consumption—whether it’s fast fashion, flights, or Black Friday gadgets—has become the main driver of the ecological crisis,” claims J.B. MacKinnon, the Canadian bestselling author of The Day the World Stops Shopping.
Many people would like to see the world consume fewer resources, yet we constantly avoid the most obvious means of achieving that.” He continues: “When people buy less stuff, you get immediate drops in emissions, resource consumption, and pollution, unlike anything we’ve achieved with green technology.”
The effects of materialism go beyond environmental harm; they also harm our mental health by fostering feelings of inadequacy and envy, which drive us into a relentless work cycle.
So, how can we address the world’s current situation?
Simply by consuming less.
In 2015, the term ‘shared economy’ made it into the Oxford dictionary, officially validating it as a phenomenon that is here to stay.
In the past century, owning goods was a sign of wealth. The more you owned, the richer you were perceived to be. However, as things became cheaper to make, more people could afford them. Now, even those who aren’t rich own a lot of stuff. This shift has changed the meaning of wealth.
So, what happens when owning things doesn’t signify wealth anymore? What do we do with all the accumulated items in our wardrobes or garages? This is where we shift our mindset to understand the importance of peer-to-peer tool rental and renting for zero-waste living instead of buying new.
When people share items, it becomes cheaper for everyone because costs are split. Sharing also allows people to earn extra money by renting out things they already own, reducing the need to buy new items. This shift can significantly reduce carbon emissions and overconsumption of new goods.
It’s a brilliant model of sustainability—a true win-win! No new clutter for the landfill.
Platforms like ivault play a crucial role in this movement by making peer-to-peer rentals seamless, secure, and accessible. With ivault, users can rent items they need, such as tools or household appliances, and contribute to zero-waste living. The ivault app ensures trust and efficiency, making it easier than ever to embrace the shared economy.
There’s also a sense of fulfillment that comes from renting and sharing with others. It helps build community and fosters trust.
According to Paul Zak, who is the founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, sharing items causes a surge in oxytocin, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. “We’re inherently social beings, and sharing our belongings is a way to demonstrate that sociability,” he states. “We’re gregariously social creatures, and one way we can exhibit that sociability is by sharing our things.”
Sustainability is a collective responsibility; it’s more than just a trend. Let’s work together to create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future for our world, one rental unit at a time, no matter your housing situation. (Source: forestnation.com)
Collaborative consumption is a simple yet revolutionary concept. It replaces the traditional “beg, steal, and borrow” mentality with “ rent, share, and connect. ” This approach is not only sustainable but also fosters a strong sense of community.