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Friday 5
The Goods: Olio Borrow
26 November, 2021
Your inbox this week will have left you in no doubt that today is Black Friday. But this week on The Goods, we’re not going to give you a rundown of this year’s best deals. Instead we’re asking: why buy when you could borrow?
Anti-food waste app Olio – which allows users to share their surplus food with people nearby rather than throwing it away – are now turning their attention to tackling long term waste. The app has launched a new marketplace feature to allow individuals to share items they already own with others who need them.
Neighbours can lend and borrow items and, as no money changes hands, it’s a transaction based on trust. The platform includes a star rating system where lenders can rate how well the borrower looked after the item and borrowers can share their experience dealing with the lender. A quick search of our local area threw up tennis rackets, UV nail lamps, ice cream makers and carpet shampooers available for short term sharing.
With the new feature Olio want to help people save money and consume less. They hope that it will become second nature for people to think of borrowing first, with buying becoming the last resort instead of the only solution. So before you buy, go and see if the nice couple at number 9 have that tent/pasta maker/pressure washer/strimmer/step ladder you’re after.
This Black Friday before you’re seduced by that discounted power drill – and the average power drill owner allegedly only uses it for a total of 15 minutes in its lifetime – think about how much more you could save by not buying it at all.
By Jessie Smith