Rental fashion in the UK
GlobalData has forecasted that the net worth of the UK clothing rental market will reach £2.3 billion by 2029 (Independent, 2020). Some of the clothing renting platforms in the UK are Hurr Collective, My Wardrobe HQ and Girl Meets Dress. High Street brand, H&M, had also trialled rental service in Stockholm (Mintel 2019b). Rental fashion is not a new idea and has well developed in the US, which accounts for £2 billion to the economy a year (The Telegraph, 2019). However, this concept is still at its beginning stage in the UK.
A survey conducted by professional services firm KPMG (2019), reveals that only 2% of British consumers link rental services to sustainable fashion. It has shown majority of UK consumers are not aware of rental fashion services. In terms of consumers’ willingness of renting clothes, according to the report from GlobalData Retail (2019), up to 84% of consumers are not likely to rent clothes or accessories, and 56% of consumers prefer to own their fashion items. Research from Mintel (2019a) indicates that majority of consumers would not be interested in renting fashion items (67%), while clothes donation and repaired fashion are in a higher popularity