My recent discovery of TuShare and Retrash has helped to validate my belief in the concept of collaborative consumption as economically, socially, politically, environmentally and ethically imperative.

If we extract this moral code – where products are consumed through sharing, or an artist’s work is created using pre-existing materials – and ask the business sector to consider how this perspective could be transposed and applied to a commercial paradigm, it may be possible for brands to move closer to a culture of customer centricity, relevance and functionality. Think product ingredients, useability, value-adding. Surely this is the kindest way to profitability. I’d written this prior to coming across a blog article by TuShare’s CEO James Bradfield Moody in which he says:

Brands that successfully sell their purpose, rather than their services, have much more potential to success in driving loyalty and building community over the long term. And a clear and compelling purpose has the potential to give a brand the opportunity to more effectively connect with its core audience and market.

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Here’s the link to James Bradfield Moody’s article – http://www.marketingmag.com.au/blogs/collaborative-consumption-and-the-sharing-economy-shaping-the-market-in-2014-and-beyond-47488/#.UxsGG-eSzOc