Turning producers into sellers, and connecting them to buyers, and turning buyers into producers

Before the internet, efficiency meant globalization. With the internet, efficiency means localizing globally.

Etsy.com, for example, allows us to efficiently find buyers for our goods, and sellers of what we want to buy in our neighborhoods. It serves as a practical response to Ryan Avent’s article in Grist on why we need to be cautious about buying locally (see my previous post on the subject). Treehugger recently posted an interview from Wallstrip with Etsy’s founder Robert Kalin.

For those who don’t know, Etsy’s incredible on-line interface allows anyone to shop or sell handmade crafts. The site features multiple ways to shop, my favorite is to look at what people are making and selling in my own neighborhood. If Locavore is the word of the year for 2007, is losumer word of the year for 2008? I certainly hope to get crafty this holiday season, and Etsy makes this a lot easier than knitting those socks myself.

Check out the geolocater. It’s a little functionally awkward right now (you should be able to search for “shirts” in “seattle” made from “Lyocel”), but the idea is fantastic. Many of my friends are using Etsy to hawk their handmade wares (Deviant Design), and I’m sure Adapt Apparel will as well.