The People Who Share, working with 500 organisations and individuals in the sharing economy across the globe, has launched a ‘Sharetrade‘ kitemark to help increase trust in this growing sector, identified as a key barrier to its success.
Organisations that display the kitemark will need to be looking at verification, reputation, convention and protection in the sharing economy, including personal verification systems on sharing economy platforms, P2P ratings, insurance if things go wrong and adopting code of conduct.
Tech City News elevator pitch alumni GoCarShare and sharing marketplace Compare and Share are key members of this grouping and have both supported the creation of the standard over the last four years.
“Creating trust and confidence in new sharing economy services is key for many of UKShareCo’s members,” said Drummond Gilbert, chairman of UKShareCo, which supports the growth of the sharing economy in the UK, who’s also CEO of GoCarShare. “As a Sharetrade kitemark launch partner our members will help deliver a kitemark with the necessary safeguards and credibility to make the sharing economy mainstream in the UK.”
“Over the next eight months, we will be working with UK, European and global partners to ensure that Sharetrade is adopted by sharing Eeconomy companies all over the globe,” explained Benita Matofska, founder of Compare and Share and The People Who Share. “Sharetrade will make accessing shared goods and services a safer option for consumers and will fuel unprecedented growth mainstreaming the sharing economy at a rapid rate.”
The launch has been timed to coincide with Global Sharing Week and the organisations involved in the UK are hosting an event tomorrow evening in Shoreditch on this area of the economy.