Clothing hire; the Airbnb of fashion. Have you ever thought of the environmental impact of purchasing ‘that new red dress’? Most likely not. We don’t tap our credit cards for those Mom Jeans after analysing how much greenhouse gas textile production can emit. Or click ‘add to bag’ on a new silk top after researching its toxic chemicals and the years taken to decompose them. Of course, such thoughts don’t often arise given the seeming incompatibility of fashion and the environment. Don’t get me wrong, we love the fashion industry. But we also love new, innovative ideas which are able to pair fashion and environmental conservation.
As consumers we are often unaware of the detrimental impacts of the fast-fashion epidemic, a trend which doesn’t seem to be curtailing anytime soon. So let me hit you with some facts. Did you know that the fashion industry is the second largest industry in terms of pollution? Feel guilty yet? Did you know that the world now consumes a whopping 80 billion pieces of clothing per year? How about now? Did you know a garbage truck load of fast fashion is dumped or burnt every second of every day? Surely you feel a slight bit of guilt.
Don’t worry. The good news is that there are lots of easy ways in which you, the consumer, can take action to help to address this problem. Hiring your clothes for events is a sizeable step forward to negating the effects of fast fashion. Given that a typical designer item can be worn up to 30 times before looking threadbare, sharing a designer item with other women means only ONE garment needs to be manufactured, processed and disposed of instead of 30. Before buying something new, ask yourself, would you wear it at least 20 times? If not, don’t buy it.
Clothing hire is designed to provide consumers with ways to help improve consumption habits on the environment and empower yourself while also saving money – it’s a win-win! The ever-growing hiring economy gives those must-have minds a new, more sustainable way forward. Clothing hire is the step forward to creating sustainable fashion!