Democratisation of the outdoors: how equipment lending is emerging in Norway’s sharing economy to provide sustainable consumption at the local scale

Abstract

Outdoor equipment lending is emerging as a collaborative consumption practice in Norway’s sharing economy, potentially providing a solution to the adverse climate and environmental impacts connected with the country’s outdoor culture. Little is known, however, of how to upscale such practices when owning equipment is culturally embedded. This article contributes to an emerging literature on how emotions, knowledge, and environmental values may contribute to participation in collaborative consumption and responds to calls for research on cultural and contextual elements of sharing practices. Through ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, we explore the outdoor equipment lending outlet TURBO in the city of Tromsø, Norway. We ask, how can collaborative consumption of equipment provide a sustainable solution to the societal goal of democratic participation in outdoor life. Building on practice theory, our analyses reveal a shift in focus from low-income and immigrant families to broader outreach and inclusion of many new user groups. In the encounters taking place at TURBO, emotions of trust and affinity, knowledge of how to access the outdoors, and environmental values are shared in dynamic interaction between lenders and borrowers. The direct effect on private consumption lies outside the scope of this research, but we argue that collaborative consumption of equipment provides potential climate and environmental benefits through the lending of donated equipment, by extending life cycles of equipment through reuse and repair, and when borrowing equipment supersedes traditional consumption. Moreover, the practices at TURBO destigmatise borrowing instead of buying and contribute to the democratisation of the outdoors.