Access over ownership used to be very exclusive only certain people could afford to rent clothes for events and special occasions. With the fashion industry being one of the biggest pollutants in the world, environmentally conscious consumers and brands are now looking at rental clothing which could help cut down on waste items, but how does it help the environment if you have to ship everything to different places each time they are wanted?
Myself as a fashion student think this concept is fun and new and a great way to help the environment but i’m just not sure if i would use the services available right now. I have been doing my research on how it saves the planet because it stops people throwing away their unwanted clothes. It also produces a lot of carbon. In fact predictions say that an item ordered online and then returned can emit 20 kilograms of carbon each way which is so shocking to hear. I asked 10 people if they would ever consider clothing rental and 7/10 said they wouldnt do it because they don’t know how well it was washed, but the remaining 3 said they would try it but only on items like purses and handbags.
Most of the websites I have seen are based in America. I have seen a lot of YouTube videos where people test out online clothing subscriptions for a month. Safiya Nygaard a American YouTuber, tested 4 different subscription boxes. This video had 10 million views, from this video I saw a rise in people testing the boxes and seeing what it’s all about. I think that rental clothing is going to get popular in the future but it’s going to take some time before it becomes popular and lots of people start to take part.
Eve x
Eve Rosevear 