Can websites that encourage borrowing turn sharing into the Next Big Thing?

As the economy cools, sharing heats up. So can websites that encourage borrowing rather than buying turn consuming less into the Next Big Thing? Several websites, including Freecycle, Neighborgoods, SnapGoods, Sharehood and SwapStyle are betting just that, competing to be the place for neighbors to lend to each other. Yerdle, cofounded by Andy Ruben (Walmart’s first head of sustainability) and Adam Werbach (the Sierra Club’s youngest president) is one of the most interesting. By signing up, you access your Facebook network and are immediately connected to all that they have to offer.