Friends, family and the circulation of used goods: overlooked sustainability practices

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ABSTRACT In the pursuit of sustainable consumption, reducing acquisition and prolonging the life of household items – like clothing, appliances and furniture – has never been more essential. Practices such as purchasing second-hand goods, borrowing, sharing and passing items between people offer environmental advantages and social support and connection too. These informal exchanges of goods remain underexplored in sustainability and consumption research. This study draws on a unique national survey of 2,700 Australian households, shedding light on how everyday sharing of goods flows through informal networks of family and friends. We argue that these personal relationships are pivotal to both understanding and encouraging the circulation of used goods in a developed economy. Our findings reveal gendered, class-based and life-stage differences in sharing practices. We discuss the influence of social capital, which allows more privileged households to circulate goods more actively than their less privileged counterparts – a novel contribution to the literature. Households with children experience faster consumption cycles, driving greater circulation of goods. Generational shifts also play a key role. We contend that informal sharing – with family and friends – holds just as much significance as formal sharing economies in diverting goods from landfills and supporting sustainable consumption. This everyday circulation is vital to the sustainability conversation.