Exercises: Sharing, circular, social and solidarity economy

Explain the difference between a linear economy (make → use → dispose) and a circular economy using the example of a cell phone: what happens to it in each model when you stop using it?

The sharing economy consists of sharing underused resources. Classify these examples as sharing economy or not and justify your answer: (a) a neighborhood board game library; (b) buying a drill that you will use twice in your life; (c) the school textbook program; (d) renting a vacation apartment managed by a company with $200$ apartments.

The diagram shows the circular economy cycle applied to clothes in the school locker, but one of the stages is covered with a question mark.

1. a) State which stage is missing between 'use' and 'reuse' (extending the garment's life by repairing it) and explain why it is the preferred option before recycling.
2. b) Go through the cycle with a school hoodie: what happens to it at each stage if the system works well?

The ecological footprint measures the impact we generate. Calculate this comparison: one single-use plastic bottle per day during the school year ($200$ days) versus a reusable steel bottle that lasts $5$ school years.

1. a) How many plastic bottles does each option consume over $5$ school years ($1,000$ days)?
2. b) If manufacturing the steel bottle is equivalent to $30$ plastic bottles, from which day onwards is it worth using the reusable one? Explain your calculation.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are $17$ global targets (no poverty, clean energy, sustainable cities, responsible consumption and production…). Choose two SDGs that fit this school project: 'a school uniform and textbook exchange hub'. Explain what the project contributes to each one and how you would measure it (what number you would record each month).

At the local farmers' market, almost all of the $\$400$ you spend on cheese from the local dairy stays in the town (the cheesemaker buys feed from the cooperative, the cooperative hires local residents…), whereas almost all of the $\$400$ spent at a supermarket chain leaves the area. Explain what local development is and why money circulating locally 'multiplies' its effect.

Every year your school generates whole cupboards of lost property, abandoned books, and broken sports equipment. Design a circular system for the school: what is collected, how it is sorted (repair, reuse, recycle), who manages it, and how it is funded. Provide two indicators to check that it works (kg reused, % of material recovered…).

A local greengrocer is considering turning into a worker cooperative: the employees would be owners and make decisions in an assembly, sharing the profits among themselves.

1. a) Compare its objectives with those of a chain greengrocer owned by an investor: what changes in decisions regarding prices, wages, and suppliers?
2. b) Analyse two advantages and two difficulties of the cooperative model for this specific case.

A 'fast fashion' chain sells T-shirts for $\$80$ that last $10$ washes; a local brand sells T-shirts for $\$400$ that last $100$ washes.

1. a) Calculate the cost per wash for each T-shirt and discuss which one is truly "cheaper".
2. b) Analyse what other costs do not appear in the price of the $\$80$ T-shirt (environmental and social) and who pays for them.