Renting is Trending.

Harper's UK is talking about rental fashion and we are all about it!  The article starts by reminding us of the envy of all closets, that of fictional SATC star Carrie Bradshaw, but quickly brings us to reality with how most woman achieve her ever changing style - buying fast fashion.

A few quotes are cited, many we've been touting for a while, like the fact that 50% of fast fashion is disposed of each year.  Author Jessica Davis also mentions that some fast fashion retailers are "trying" to take action, but she shares in our opinion that providing shopping vouchers for turning in unwanted clothes is unequivocally not a solution. 

The hitch is in consumption and it's worth repeating that clothing consumption has doubled in the last decade, while utilization moves in the opposite direction.  As the article goes deeper into the idea of 'rental shopping' we learned that our UK sisters have started to adopt the rental realm. 

The UK economy is potentially worth 923 million pounds...that's not pocket change! To give color to that, there are 30 BILLION pounds (yeah...with a B) worth of unworn clothes hanging in wardrobes in the UK.  Imagine what the US number is, considering we consume more than any other country. This proves that while the rental industry is certainly in motion, it has abundant space to grow. Last fall, Westfield conducted a retail behavior study which included a pop-up rental store called StyleTrial.  The company concluded that rental fashion point blank WILL BE PART OF SHOPPING IN THE FUTURE, revealing that nearly half of 25-34 year olds are interested in renting fashion. The consensus from visitors at StyleTrial?  Consumers would use rental shopping because it provides consumer choice, enables a non-committal adoption of trends and provides a more sustainable approach to fashion.

We're as trend-driven as the next fashion lover but we were pretty stoked to hear sustainability was also top of mind! Cheers to Tulerie setting trend in a different way!