One of the reasons behind Hire Things is the fact that hiring is such a great sustainable business model… both environmentally and socially.
If you look at the 3 R’s… Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… hire businesses demonstrate most, if not all of these….
Reduce: Hiring provides an alternative to excessive consumption / consumerism. Hire businesses buy good quality gear that will last a long time. They can even afford new gear that is leading edge in fuel or power efficiency and emissions (for example, most rental & leasing car companies offer hybrid vehicles).
Reuse: They let lots of people use it, meaning people don’t have to buy stuff that doesn’t get used much, or buy cheap goods that end up on the landfill after only a few uses. They also employ / contract in people to maintain & repair the equipment, giving jobs/employment as well as extending the life of the gear. As gear is well maintained, it means it can be sold onto a consumer once it passes it’s effective hire use-by-date, giving it yet another life.
Recycle: Because hire businesses tend to stay at the leading edge of the equipment they use, as recyclable equipment becomes more prevalent, hire businesses are likely to lead the way in bringing this equipment into use. By being used and visible to consumers, this also serves to help this type of equipment become mainstream. One would hope also that it is businesses that seek to adopt good practices around recycling.
Resource Sharing: Hiring is all about resource sharing, and that is what excites us about what we are doing… creating a space where people work together, using things, to make life better now.
Proven to make sense: Hire & rental businesses are one of the oldest forms of businesses around, and are truly one of the greenest in our society. It is something they should be proud of, and something we as consumers should keep in mind as we more and more want to make better, smarter, more sustainable lifestyle decisions.
In a world of increasing consumerism, mixed with growing concerns about social and environmental sustainability, hiring and renting stands out as being the smartest form of business… to share resources amongst many people.
Some links on hiring and renting as a sustainable choice:
Hire or rental companies offer you everything under the sun. You only need pay for the time you use it. When you don’t need it, someone else covers the cost of that item, because they’re now using it. Why pay for a lawn mower that spends 167 hours per week in the garage, and 1 hour being used. Wouldn’t you rather pay for just the hour of use?http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/ecotip_product.php
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