Why a rental shop?
The data on the Old Continent and the reuse of clothes by its residents are far from optimistic. Due to the lack of adequate technology, less than 1% of clothing is recycled, with the average resident of the European Union throwing away around 11 kilograms of textile waste per year. Importantly, this number is expected to grow. This is a result of increasing sales in the clothing sector. Over the last two decades, the amount of clothes purchased per person in the European Union has surged by 40%. According to projections, the consumption of clothing may grow by another 60% by 2030.
To counteract these negative trends, the European Commission developed the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. The document rests on two pillars. The first concerns businesses and sets forth new regulations that are to contribute to moving away from the current linear model (buy, use, discard) to the circular model (buy, repair, swap/donate/recycle). What’s important, the strategy especially focuses on extending the “life” (i.e. the durability) and possibility of reusing textile products. It will also introduce the principle of full transparency in the entire supply chain. The second pillar concerns consumers and changing their buying habits. According to the EU guidelines, they are supposed to be encouraged by clothing companies to choose products of higher quality and durability, to repair the clothes they already own, to rent clothes or purchase pre-used garments, as well as to take advantage of upcycling projects. These two pillars have in common the concept of renting clothes.
4F Project
The report ‘The State of Fashion 2019’ (McKinsey x Business of Fashion) demonstrates that in the future, more and more consumers will have a growing share of used and rented items in their wardrobes. Out of concern for the planet and in response to the customers’ needs, we did a test project of a clothing rental shop. Its primary goal was to prepare the 4F brand for the so-called ‘wardrobe of the future’ which, in addition to new items, will consist of more pre-owned or rented clothes.
The 4F rental shop operated online from January to March 2022. The clothes were sent to customers by a courier service and returned the same way. When they wanted to return the clothes, the customers didn’t have to worry about washing them. 4F handled the cleaning of the rented products. The project covered one clothing category; skiwear was a perfect product for testing.
Skiing on the slopes usually lasts for two weeks each season. When renting a complete outfit, our customers paid only a fraction of its whole price. What’s equally important for many people, the clothes didn’t lie unused in the wardrobe for the other 50 weeks of the year. Our concept also had other benefits: the possibility to use products from the latest collection, choosing clothes appropriate for the weather that may be very different from one month to the next in the same season, as well as matching the outfit to skier’s skills and requirements. Some of the customers interested in purchasing a product were able to give it a test run in the rental shop before deciding to buy it.
Wypożyczanie ubrań z całą pewnością wspiera ideę przemyślanych zakupów i jest ważnym elementem zamykania obiegu tekstyliów czy przedłużania ich życia. Zyskuje na tym środowisko, do którego trafia mniej nieprzetworzonych śmieci. Wypożyczane ubrania są w użyciu przez cały sezon i służą wielu osobom. Ponadto, po sezonie stroje zyskały drugie życie i zostały wprowadzone do sprzedaży w strefie Wear_Fair, w której 4F oferuje używane, odświeżone ubrania.
Renting clothes definitely supports the idea of mindful shopping and is a vital part of closing the circulation of textiles or extending their life. With less unprocessed waste, the environment benefits from this. The rented clothes are used throughout the season and serve many people. Moreover, once the ski season was over, the skiwear was given a second life and was made available for sale at the Wear_Fair zone where 4F offers pre-owned, restored clothes. During the nine weeks of the project, we managed to obtain valuable information: e.g. on customers’ preferences regarding the collection, duration of the rental or the condition they were returned in. Thanks to the pilot program, we have learned a lot, and know how to effectively run such projects in the future.
Rental shop – what’s next?
When carrying out the clothes rental shop project, we were looking to collect data and understand customers’ expectations. The project was targeted at a small group of people and was not promoted by large-scale marketing campaigns. Still, we managed to obtain valuable data and achieve our goals. This project will help us develop this concept even more effectively in the future.
Clothing rental is one of the key elements of the 4F Change strategy. That’s why our plans for years 2023-2026 include making this service a permanent part of the brand’s offer.
A big thank you to everyone who used the rental shop and contributed to the implementation of the 4F Change strategy. We’re working on new projects, so stay tuned for more news.