RE: Commerce

   

     One of the “re-” words that has been surfacing a lot in the past few years is “recommerce”. Known as a means of reversing commerce, recommerce is the process of selling pre-owned products. Usually through an online channel. Recommerce follows an easy model: consumers exchange their used clothing for store credit, the partnering recommerce service repairs the product, the products are then re-sold.

The Circle of Life (& the Economy)

     

     Economics has been a part of human life on earth since the 11th century, back when trade routes flourished between major cities. Where there are resources to manage and people who need them, there will be economic structure. The thing that I had never really stopped to consider before is that there are several styles of economic structures that we can function by. Unfortunately, the most popular approach (for nearly 200 years now) is a Linear Economy. A linear economy uses the process of, 

Take > Make > Use > Dispose (& Pollute)

     While it sounds really bad, it is not all bad. The linear economy structure has created economic wealth, increased available jobs, has added to modern conveniences, improved quality of life, and it has even reduced mortality rates. While these benefits are good, really good, they are also unsustainable. 

We’re All Just a Bunch’a Tools

Every trade has its tools.

     A shovel is a tool that can be used to cultivate land - creating a space for seeds to thrive. A shovel can also be used to ruin a garden - dig up all of the pretty and hearty plants, tear them up by the root, throw them away to shrivel and rot. 

    In the same way, any tool can be used for good or for bad, it all depends on who is in possession of the tool. What do they intend? What is their definition of value?

     Business is a tool - a tool that is often overlooked. Some look at business and see money, status, a means to an end, and a tool to be used for personal gain. Some look at business and see the greed of the formerly mentioned and choose to be disgusted by the whole enterprise - hating the tool, itself, not the one in the possession of the tool. I constantly stood somewhere between, sitting on the fence… But, I had never taken a moment to realize that the very tool that I was sometimes disappointed in was the same tool that I could be proud of.