The current consumerism of the fashion industry is unsustainable and as clothing rentals become more and more common, the trend has caught on at a time when the European Union has announced that it wants to put an end to cheap clothing.
The practice of renting garments is, together with the buying and selling of second-hand items, one of the ways that large textile companies and business groups linked to the fashion sector are encouraging the most, in order to move towards more sustainable and environmentally responsible consumption models.
Although both strategies have been in practice for a long time, it’s also true that the demand for this series of services has only increased by consumers for some time now, and that there is still a long way to go before they become a preferred option among a large majority of consumers.
In recent years, applications such as Vinted, where users can buy and sell second-hand clothes, have become popular, and now platforms and companies for renting clothes are also beginning to emerge. This is a real boom that has come from other countries where this practice is more normalized and is here to stay.
The European Union's Target Date for 2023
This trend has caught on at a time when the European Union has announced that it wants to put an end to cheap clothing. Europe's target date is 2030. By then, Brussels wants to make it compulsory for all clothing manufacturers to have the obligation to extend the useful life of the products and that each piece has to have a percentage of recycled material.
This would be in addition to the reduction of trade relations with Asia to boost local industry, which would enjoy tax benefits. In this way, the EU intends to improve the use of resources and reduce the carbon footprint.
Harrods Collaborates with Wardrobe HQ
In a response to the boom, luxury retail is also taking a stance. London department store Harrods partnered with My Wardrobe HQ, an online luxury rental marketplace, and offered more than a thousand garments for 23 pounds for four days.
Featuring brands such as Bottega Veneta, Self Portrait, Rotate, and Huishan Zhang, Harrods’ rentals are available to rent for up to 14 days, with the option to buy, and will feature garments from last year's collections. Prices range from £23 to £400. My Wardrobe HQ handles logistics and marketing for the collaboration, while Harrods will handle stock management.
This is not My Wardrobe HQ's first collaboration with a British luxury department store. Both Liberty and Harvey Nichols have partnered over the past year with the clothing rental platform. As revealed by Sacha Newall, co-founder of the website, the collaboration with Harrods is deeper than previous ones, because of the large amount of supply promised.
In addition to its turnover advantage, the environmental aspect of renting has been used to make the case for it over buying. Last year, Harrods received the Carbon Trust Triple Standard certification for Carbon, Water and Waste for its efforts to measure, manage and effectivelu reduce its carbon footprint and commit to reducing it year after year.
According to British Vogue’s January 2023 issue, the rental trend is set to continue, with Selfridges and MatchesFashion all offering customers the opportunity to loan luxury pieces. More and more companies are exploring circular models going forward.