Don't shop, rent! Even luxury labels are launching clothing rentals

Models present creations during the Burberry 2020 Autumn/Winter collection runway show during London Fashion Week in 2020. Photo: AFP

Whether it's buying second-hand, recycling, repairing, upcycling or clothing rental, all these alternatives to traditional fashion could help significantly reduce the industry's environmental footprint.

And even luxury brands are now on board.

British luxury fashion house Burberry is continuing its efforts to make fashion more circular by adding clothing rentals to its services, in partnership with the My Wardrobe HQ platform. While helping to mitigate fashion's impact on the planet, this initiative also allows access to the brand's must-have pieces at a lower cost.

Read more: 'Who wants to work in an abattoir?': Stella McCartney on fashion's 'green' need

And this is a matter of urgency, according to a McKinsey report, produced in partnership with the Global Fashion Agenda, and released last year, which estimates the emissions from this rapidly changing sector to reach 2.7 billion tonnes per year by 2030.

Many fashion companies are tackling the problem head on, offering new approaches to the way we consume fashion.

Burberry's branching out into clothing rental shows just how fast-growing the market can be worldwide.

The luxury fashion house is offering some of its most iconic pieces, including the famous trench coat, for rent for a minimum of four days, and up to 14 consecutive days. And, if your rental item is just too good to give up, it's also possible to buy a given product used, at a more affordable price than buying it new.

The service is relatively simple to use. A person needs only to go to the collection page on the My Wardrobe HQ website, and choose the piece(s) you want to wear daily, for a night out, or a special event.

Choices can be quite comprehensive, from scarves to trench coats, T-shirts, dresses, pants and sneakers to several handbags.

Read more: Perfect time to go 'green'? Watchmakers are embracing the upcycling trend too

There's enough to build a complete outfit, in fact. Once selection is made, all needs to be done is select the duration of the rental (4, 7, 10 or 14 days) and proceed to the checkout, unless there is a preference to buy item(s) directly second-hand.

For example, one of Burberry's iconic trench coats, which retails at £1,750 (RM9,756) new, can be rented for £29 (RM162) a day, or bought second-hand for £875 (RM4,878).

The service so far seems to be popular, as some pieces are already unavailable only a few hours after launching.

Note too that 40% of each transaction will be donated to the Smart Works charity, which works to help get women back into the job market. – AFP Relaxnews

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