sharing
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These urban farmers want to feed the whole neighborhood — for free
The Beacon Food Forest plants the heirloom seeds of a real sharing economy.
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Sidecar lets drivers rent out their empty backseat
In theory, Sidecar is about sharing. Here’s how it’s supposed to work: You’re headed downtown in your car, but before you leave you check your Sidecar app. A user a few blocks down is looking for a ride in the same direction. You swing by, pick her up, and drop her off. Everyone wins by […]
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The barter economy — coming soon to a backyard near you
Toting a loaf of homemade bread, her boyfriend’s beef jerky, and a couple of bottles of her very own Thunder Sauce, Grist’s green-living pioneer, the Greenie Pig, sets off for the neighborhood bartering session.
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Couch surfers unite! Big business stomps on the sharing economy
Last year, the rental car industry smacked down car-sharing companies in Washington. Now, it appears that the hotel biz may have it out for folks who rent out their spare bedrooms via Airbnb. It’s all fun and games until greedy corporations get involved.
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The sharing economy doesn’t always work: Luxury car theft edition
Peer to peer sharing of everything from apartments to cars is taking off, except when it comes to luxury cars, because they are valuable and people will steal them.
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Toilet-sharing app CLOO' turns your home into a public bathroom
Hey, we all love sharing, right? It lets you live comfortably while limiting consumption and waste. And you have that bathroom, and you're not using it all the time, right? What are you, selfish? Put your money where your mouth is, toilet-hog, and offer up your bathroom to strangers with a deuce to donate. Otherwise the terrorists win.
If you're seriously willing to hang an "Open to Strange Butts" placard outside your lavatory (what are you, nuts? We were joking), a new app called CLOO' will let you take shit from just about anyone.
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Leave a love note for a sexy bike
Ever see a bike on the street that had your heart going pitter-patter? Sarah Raz, of the Adventure Cycling Association, knows where you’re coming from: "I can't even tell you how many times I've seen a beauty of a bike, hand built or all vintage, parked near the post office or my grocery store, and I've just had to leave a love note," she writes.
But there's a quick fix for this uncontrollable urge! -
How to cover 100 percent of your car expenses by renting yours out
Getaround is a car-sharing service like ZipCar, except instead of borrowing the company's vehicles, you're borrowing your neighbors'.
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When collaborative consumption goes bad
Sharing networks are all the rage, but sometimes things go awry, as in the recent case of a woman who rented out her apartment via Airbnb and returned to find it trashed.