When Online Recycling Enables Givers to Escape the Tensions of the Gift Economy

Abstract

International audienceThe present article explores a relatively new way for consumers to dispose of items they no longer use, namely free recycling websites. Online recycling is based on an encounter with an unknown recipient to give something away 'in person'. A phenomenological approach was used to understand the meaning of giving through free recycling websites. Placing the focus on the donor's perspective, we analysed Internet postings and conducted 27 in-depth interviews. Our research shows that (1) when the object is given, the online giver is less concerned about the risk of refusal, since the recipient has deliberately made the choice to take the item; (2) when the item is received, the encounter with the recipient removes the anonymity of charities and (3) in return, the encounter with the recipient offers the giver acknowledgement for the gesture without committing them to a relationship with the recipient in the way a gift to kith or kin might do. While former literature has highlighted certain tensions in the gift economy, this study shows how free recycling websites can help to alleviate such tensions. The research highlights how this system of object disposition enhances social interactions between two strangers that share an interest in the same object. The article shows how this new form of gift-giving relationship is both rewarding and liberating: it is rewarding thanks to the interaction with the recipient (unlike donations to charities) without necessarily creating a bond of dependence (unlike giving to someone you know)

Grassroots social innovation and the mobilisation of values in collaborative consumption: a conceptual model

“…Enacted by participants in free reuse groups by Self-transcendence Reducing one's environmental impact by extending the lifespan of an item (Foden, 2012); Helping someone in need to obtain an item that could improve their quality of life (Groomes and Seyfang, 2012;Guillard and Bucchia, 2012b;Nelson and Rademacher, 2009); Supporting one's local community (Nelson et al, 2007).…”

“…Motivations for giving away items include seeking to: experience the pleasure associated with the act of making a gift (Nelson and Rademacher, 2009); avoid the inconveniences of other forms of waste disposal (Groomes and Seyfang, 2012;Guillard and Bucchia, 2012b); make a charitable gift to a person in need (Guillard and Bucchia, 2012b;Nelson and Rademacher, 2009); support the local community (Nelson et al, 2007); or, act on environment concerns (Foden, 2012). Motivations for requesting items include seeking to: save money by acquiring items for free (Nelson et al, 2007); act on environment concerns (Foden, 2012); acquire items to resell for profit or for charitable causes (Freecycle, 2009); or, through financial necessity, acquire items that could not otherwise be afforded (Foden, 2012).…”

The Need to Give Gratuitously: A Relevant Concept Anchored in Catholic Social Teaching to Envision the Consumer Behavior

“…Research has shown that people use Internet platforms (for example, the French website www.recupe. net) in order to gain a sense of belonging in a community of donors (Nelson et al 2007) or to foster the possibility to choose and perhaps meet the future recipient of their objects, or to be recognized as donors (Guillard and Del Bucchia 2012). Others choose ''hybrid options'' (Scaraboto 2015) like selling to flea markets (where giving and selling are mixed) to meet the future beneficiary of the gift or to have the opportunity to meet people who share a passion for a particular object (Herrmann 1997;Garcia-Bardidia 2014).…”

“…Le Gall Ely and Urbain (2011) show how people escape from the ''straightjacket of social expectations'' (Marcoux 2009) by resorting to the market instead of asking for help from relatives, or by giving gifts to associations instead of relatives in order to avoid negative effects like dependence, humiliation, and oppression between giver and receiver. In order to escape these tensions, consumers may choose to give goods to ''strangers'' (Guillard and Del Bucchia 2012).…”

“…It is considered as a transfer of goods or services between a donor (person/ people or organization) and a receiver (person/people or organization), without contractual obligation and without immediate return (Le Gall Ely 2014). The gift, whose aim is to create a social tie, is deeply embedded in the sphere of monetary exchange and relationships, whose roots are found in the theory of Marcel Mauss. The ''gift exchange theory'' articulated by Mauss (1924) and his concept of a threefold obligation (giving/receiving/ returning) is the dominant-not to say hegemonic-theoretical framework mobilized to explain the majority of gift issues in marketing (Belk 1976;Bendapudi et al 1996;Joy 2001;Marcoux 2009;Bajde 2012;Guillard and Del Bucchia 2012). Mauss's considerable work has for years influenced the traditional understanding of marketing (Le Gall Ely 2014).…”