With 1.7 million garments thrown away “after just one use” in the UK, could rental clothing offer fashion a sustainable future?
The Christmas jumper sums up the state of our fast fashion crisis: the one you wore last year is stuffed in the back of the wardrobe, stretched out from one too many mince pies, complete with a cheesy slogan. Hideous. You hop online where jumpers galore are three-for-one, covered in plastic tinsel, and massive bows. And a cartoon Rudolph complete with a light-up flashing nose. Which also sings.
It’s not just the jumpers. A recent study by Oxfam found: “In the UK, 33 million sequined garments and accessories are purchased each festive season, and 1.7 million of these are thrown away after just one use.”
We often panic buy a sparkly outfit for the multiple Christmas parties, work dos and get togethers, rationalising that they’ll be an investment, to be kept year after year. But with trends cycling faster than ever before, and social expectations through the roof, you can bet that sequin pantsuit won’t see another Christmas.
Merry Excess
Apparel imports in Wales have been found in a recent survey to be 608% more than the export rates, the largest import-export ratio of all miscellaneous consumer trader goods, despite being one of the top countries in the world for sustainability.
This means nearly all of the clothes we buy have to travel thousands of miles to be delivered to our doorstep, only to be discarded after one use. And if it’s fast fashion, you can almost guarantee it is sourced unethically.
And it’s not just the planet, but also your pockets. In a November survey by Finder, Welsh people plan to spend on average £740 per person on Christmas gifts this year. And yet we still find the need to spend on fresh festive outfits each year.
Here’s where the Christmas miracle comes in: rental fashion.
Renting lets the consumer feel the dopamine rush of buying a new piece, without the hefty price tag or the overconsumption.
Much like how we swap clothes with our girl friends, rental fashion gives the buyer a curated collection to choose from, and take back when they’re done; without even having to worry about what washing machine setting to choose.
Hannah Jones, owner of rental boutique Minnie May, described renting as the “sustainable trend. Buying second hand is cool. We are certainly on the curve of the circular economy.”
Minnie May calls itself the “first and leading in Wales” rental boutique of its kind, offering not only bridal wear, but work party outfits, birthday attire and other less formal occasion wear. The high street aspect of Jones’ business allows her customers to enjoy a personal styling session to make sure they are happy with their order before taking it home, taking out any risk of the customer buying a ‘haul’.
The haul culture crisis
Buying multiple clothes in different sizes, or a whole host of different pieces from online stores or even from the high street has become normal. With the rise of clothing hauls on social media, buying and returning lots of clothing at a time has become more and more normalised, which not only promotes overconsumption but uses more emissions, and often returns just get thrown away.
Not only are hauls becoming more popular, but the social pressure of wearing a new outfit and keeping up with trends has become more explosive with the rise of social media.
Women aren’t just going to fall out of love with fashion
Strike Magazine explains: “The aspirational nature of the videos leads viewers to believe that the content creator is presenting the ideal life, a life that we should all strive to obtain by consuming more goods.”
Because of this, more brands are offering rental services for their pricier occasion wear, the most recent being the fast fashion retailer ASOS. The brand collaborated with rental service Hirestreet to offer a subscription based rental service, where the consumer will be able to rent five garments a month for £75.
Rental eradicates the issue of social pressure because your wardrobe is constantly changing, but without the detrimental effect to the environment and your finances.
Hannah Teale, owner of a rental company Diffuse based in Warwick, gave her insights after her first year of business: “Outside of this rental revolution, we don’t have a choice. We either have to buy or we miss out. Rental is growing because there is a need for women to shop in a way that suits their needs. [Occasion Wear] is a very emotional category to shop and it is needed to meet those emotional demands that are ultimately always going to exist. Women aren’t just going to fall out of love with fashion.”
Jenna Rak, the senior director of audience development with remit across Latin America, Europe and Asia, spoke to alt.Cardiff on renting clothing: “I think renting will be so much bigger in the next couple of years. It’s already big in America, so I think everyone will be using it in the UK.”
Grazia reports that with the rental market in the UK hitting £923 billion this year, it’s “forecast to boom over the next few years.” Although rental boutiques are few and far between in Wales, with the expected “boom” of rental fashion in the coming years, it is likely they could become more common.
With the trends coming and going as quick as melting snow, a wardrobe that is fresh and sustainable will protect our planet from dangerous emissions and overconsumption, and your wardrobe from another Rudolph jumper faux-pas.