Collaborative Consumption

     SwapStyle is a collaborative consumption website where people can swap clothing and accessories. Registration is free, however, if you want to become a verified member, which shows your commitment to the SwapStyle service, there is a ten dollar fee. Similar to Facebook you can set up a profile with your swapping needs listed and can add a profile picture. When you have something you want to swap, you upload a picture of it onto the website.  

      One thing that was really interesting about this website was their emphasis on how this is an eco-friendly way to get new clothes. They added statistics on how much clothing ends up in landfills from the US annually (23.8 billion pounds). SwapStyle is aware that some of their customers are environmentally conscious and is making sure that they are not ignoring the value they are providing to this customer segment

      SwapStyle functions as a redistribution market. It is trying to change how we think about purchasing clothing and the assumption that we always need to buy new products. Collaborative consumption could help change our mentality from a ‘me’ to ‘we’ perspective. The social network trend has made it much more likely to reach out to people and websites create a feeling of community for the people involved. Collaborative consumption will also help switch consumers thinking to buying less rather than just buying “green” products

SwapStyle's website:

http://www.swapstyle.com/