We round up the best of fashion rental
Onloan Lab is a brilliant concept allowing brands to ‘road test’ their garments through the site to gather consumer feedback before going into production.
Buying new? So last decade. Fashion rental looks set to rocket. That’s good news for the planet. Global production of clothing has doubled in the past 15 years, contributing to the £140m worth of clothing which is sent to landfill every year in the UK alone, says Greenpeace. And everything gets more frantic around Christmas. On average, the Christmas dress, among other panic partywear buys, is worn fewer than 3 times.
And don’t get us started on sequins. The 1.7million sequinned items that will be binned after Christmas Party season will sit in landfill for hundreds of years. Washing sequin or glittery dresses results in micro plastics leaking into the ocean via our drains. These micro plastics are then consumed by marine life which can be fatal. For low-cost sequin items much finishing work is done by hand - typically by women and child labourers, who are easily exploited
At the same time, the rise of rental is just as great news for all the lovely stuff we used to associate with fashion - such as creativity, individuality, having fun with new things. Especially in the middle of a pandemic. Rather than deny our desire for new things, which we associate with pleasure and reward and which was always going to be a tough sell, fashion rental can give us the dopamine hit we need, behavioural psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion Carolyn Mair, told The Guardian. So instead of plundering stores for party dresses this festive season, rent. It’s better for everyone, yah? Here’s five companies doing the right thing.
HIRESTREET: On average, the Christmas dress, among other panic partywear buys, is worn fewer than 3 times. Combined with the irreparable damage of sequins to our environment, rental is now one of the most viable options for changing up your wardrobe - sustainably. Fashion rental platform Hirestreet, founded by Isabella West, one of Forbes’ 30 under 30, is urging customers to think carefully about partywear purchases as we enter the festive season. Their core audience? Gen Z and Millennial women who are wisely pivoting away from fast fashion brands.
“2020 has been a year of loungewear [so] we totally understand wanting to get dressed up this Christmas,” says Isabella. “But, before you buy your dress we recommend asking yourself the “will I wear it more than once” question. If the answer is no, then you should consider renting it. Eight million Christmas party dresses are only worn once every year. If everyone rented instead of bought those outfits, this would have the equivalent CO2 savings to taking all the cars off the roads in Britain for three days.’
ONLOAN: Instead of working peer-to-peer like other rental platforms, Onloan is currently the only rental subscription platform working directly with brands such as Mother of Pearl and Maggie Mary, on a wholesale/consignment basis. The aim is to support the industry and its designers, allowing them to gain value from the ongoing longevity of a garments life cycle. At least 80 per cent of stock is past season. Onloan Lab is a brilliant concept allowing brands to ‘road test’ their garments through the site to gather consumer feedback before going into production.
ROTARO: Instead of swapping winter coats every season - seriously, who does that any more? - Rotaro allows you to rent outwear from just £15. And with a nice seletion of labels including House of Sunny, Rejina Pyo and Shrimps, you won’t be short of options. Rotaro has also partnered with Ecologi, a leading social enterprise, to plant trees and offset carbon. For each rental, the company will plant a tree (2 trees for gift cards); for each new brand it partners with, it will plant a thicket. The result? A fully carbon positive workforce.
BY ROTATION: It wasn't until Eshita Kabra Davies was on her honeymoon in late 2018 that the concept of fashion peer-to-peer rental app By Rotation was born. Visiting Rajasthan, Eshita witnessed first-hand the effects of textile waste and felt compelled to bring about change. As a 'third culture kid', Eshita is especially focussed on creating a community that democratises fashion, making it accessible and inclusive to all, and does not harm the planet. A year later, By Rotation is the UK’s leading fashion rental app with 32,000 members.
HURR COLLECTIVE: HURR Collective was founded with one simple vision: to connect forward-thinking women, democratise luxury and pave the way towards a more sustainable, circular future for fashion. HURR allows women to share their wardrobes securely - and in seconds. Much more than an online platform, Hurr aims to be a trusted community and marketplace for luxury fashion rental, using real-time ID verification, geo-tagging and AI-powered fashion stylists. Statistics for each item show how many trees or how many miles driven in a car-worth of emissions you’re saving by renting.
