Sharing Economy UK (SEUK) has announced the induction of 12 new members. The trade body for sharing economy businesses, founded by Love Home Swap CEO Debbie Wosskow in March 2015, is designed to promote trust and quality in the sector.
There were originally 19 businesses signed up to the trade body, including Airbnb and BlaBlaCar. They signed up to a code of conduct in which members agree to adhere to working practices around staff training, safety and honesty & trust.
>See also: How to build trust in the sharing economy
It was set up partly as a response to government-backed independent review Unlocking the Sharing Economy, authored by Wosskow in November 2014.
Six full members have been announced. They are:
- AOGsmart.com: the platform bringing collaborative consumption to the aviation parts industry for the first time
- Beds on Board: the platform connecting boat owners with accommodation seekers
- car2go UK Ltd: the pioneer of “free-floating” car sharing
- MBA & Company: a leading global marketplace for companies to access top tier business consulting talent
- Timebanking UK: a national charity with a mission to offer support and resources to community time banks
- Homestay: an online platform connecting guests with live-in hosts who open their homes to travellers.
Along with the full members there are also six new associate members joining the body. These are:
- Admiral Group: Admiral is a UK based insurance company that first launched Multi Car Insurance cover
- Atkins: Atkins’ Intelligent Mobility services offers a new way of thinking about how to connect people, places and goods across all transport modes
- Resort Development Organisation Ltd: RDO is the Trade Association for vacation ownership across Europe
- Safe Share, a Specialist Insurance Business for the Sharing Economy
- Stripe: Stripe processes billions of pounds a year for some of the most successful sharing economy services and marketplaces on the Internet, including Love Home Swap, TaskRabbit, Hassle, Shopify and Kickstarter.
- Yoti: a digital identity system that provides a simple and secure way of proving and checking the identity of people; both online and face-to-face
Founder Debbie Wosskow said that remit of SEUK is “to be a vehicle of positive change for the sharing economy and the businesses within it”.
“The progress we have made in such a short period of time is a source of pride for all involved and punctuated by a further influx of new members,” she continued.
“Furthermore, the inclusion of further changes to UK legislation in the Summer Budget, on the back of the work SEUK and its members are doing, is both validation and encouragement.
“We are very much looking forward to working with all 12 new members as we focus on the challenges ahead, particularly around developing and establishing the world’s first sharing trustmark.”
Further reading: Ensuring the future of the UK’s sharing economy
