Page 11 - U4SSC Case study: Re-use of consumer goods and tools loaning, June 2020

In order to decrease the amount of waste produced and limit the effects of climate change, there should
be a change in consumer spending habits given that around 60 - 80 per cent of the environmental
impacts on the planet originate from household consumption. According to a new study published in
the Journal of Industrial Ecology, it was found that population’s senseless consumerism contributes 60
per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with a total land, material and water use of 50 - 80 per
cent (Jacobs, 2016). This can be exemplified by the fact that people prefer to buy new items rather
than repairing old ones.

This habit is fuelled by companies’ profit-making strategies whereby products are made less sturdy
in order to having shorter life cycles, as testified by their short warranties. Moreover, in many cases,
people find the cost of repair to be higher than the cost of buying a new one. For example, as reported
by HomeAdvisor, the repair services for major appliances can charge between USD 100 to USD 250
an hour for labour, excluding the price of spare parts and other service fees and taxes. For smaller
appliances such as microwave ovens, the service charge can be around USD 70 an hour, with the
addition of the cost of parts. However, most decent models can be purchased for prices ranging from
USD 50 to USD 100 (Rox, 2018). Even though it may sound profitable for the consumer, and give an
illusion of convenience, over the long term, the amount of money spent on a particular item is far
higher as the frequency of replacement and/or repair increases.

Challenge and response

The main external city trends that have influenced the Library of Things are:

– Degradation of the natural environment and economic losses

The economy as it is relies mainly upon inexpensive and readily available natural resources. However,
as economic growth increases, natural resources decrease drastically while carbon emissions and
the costs of production tend to be on the high side.
– Regulatory trends

More and more policymakers around the world are charging the cost of externalities through
environmental taxes. For example, the number of laws on climate change has increased by 66 per
cent since 2009, rising from 300 to 500 laws (LWARB, 2015).

– The change in consumer behaviour
As people’s mind-sets change, companies are forced to follow, in order to remain competitive. For
example, signs of a circular economy can already be seen in London, with people consuming goods
in alternative ways such as carpooling, reading e-books rather than hard copies, leasing instead of
owning, cloud computing or shopping from flea markets and second-hand stores (Greater London
Authority, 2018).

– The growing movement of the collaborative economy

The collaborative economy is growing rapidly. Gross revenue in the EU from collaborative platforms
and providers was estimated to be EUR 28 billion in 2015. Growth in recent years has been
spectacular, with revenues almost doubling from 2014 to 2015. In 2016, a Eurobarometer poll
showed that more than half of all EU citizens know about the collaborative economy, with one

Case study: Re-use of consumer goods and tools loaning, June 2020 5