Fashion conscious young Australians are turning to renting fashion labels rather than buying new, leading a new trend for those who want to reduce their carbon emissions and reliance on new clothing and adopt more sustainable lifestyles. Especially important when re-using can reduce an item’s CO2 impact by over 80 per cent.
The New York Times first coined the term “fast fashion” in the 1990s. It refers to a business model in the fashion industry that focuses on rapidly producing and distributing low cost clothing. Fast fashion companies quickly replicate current fashion trends, often inspired by catwalk styles or celebrity culture, and mass produce them at a low cost. Fast fashion is now all the rage, but it is harming the environment.
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Worldwide, people consume 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year — a 400 per cent increase from 20 years ago. Though “fast fashion” costs less for consumers, the environment and society more broadly ultimately pay a higher price. The UN Environment Programme has estimated that the fashion industry is the second biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 2 per cent to 8 per cent of global carbon emissions. The fashion industry is the earth’s second largest water consumer after agriculture. The industry uses 93 billion cubic metres of water, enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people.
Just consider the water needed to make one item of clothing. According to figures from the United Nations Environment Programme, it takes 3781 litres of water to make just one pair of jeans, from the production of the cotton to the delivery of the final product to the store. That equates to the emission of around 33.4 kilograms of carbon equivalent.
The pace of fast fashion is a big problem. Clothing launches are no longer seasonal. We have seen across the fashion industry the continuous replacement of clothing inventories. Many low cost clothing stores offer new designs every month. In 2000, 50 billion new garments were made; nearly 20 years later, that figure has doubled, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
How to overcome the fast fashion fad
Renting platforms can help consumers save up to 75 per cent of the recommended retail price (RRP) through renting rather than buying new clothing. Many Australians shop second hand to be able to afford higher end brands. This is likely to be a growing trend as sustainability targets become more urgent.
As the expense of branded clothing rises, too, consumers are likely to turn away from buying new clothing to renting items for a few days at a time. Rental platforms have made it possible to rent fashion labels cheaply. We expect more clothes buyers will turn to renters in 2025, including women seeking clothing for special occasions such as weddings and parties. For our own business, we have seen some customers rent up to three times in one quarter. That is a positive trend as we are buying too much new clothing.
Australians buy 54 new garments per person each year, yet 60 per cent of new items end up in landfill within 12 months, creating microplastics. According to Greenpeace, the average person buys 60 per cent more clothing and keeps them for about half as long as 15 years ago. Other studies suggest that 50 to 80 per cent of new clothes go unworn after they are bought.
In the current day, with new clothing massively underutilised, especially in a high-income nation like Australia, the current wasteful system is placing pressures on global resources and is responsible for a huge level of carbon emissions. Globally, secondhand sales are expected to reach 10 per cent of global fashion sales in 2025.
Reusing instead of buying can reduce an item’s CO2 impact by over 80 per cent, cutting water pollution and landfill. Worldwide, people consume 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year — a 400 per cent increase from 20 years ago. The UN Environment Programme has estimated the fashion industry is the second biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 2 per cent to 8 per cent of global carbon emissions. According to figures from the United Nations Environment Programme, it takes 3781 litres of water to make just one pair of jeans, from the production of the cotton to the delivery of the final product to the store. That equates to the emission of around 33.4 kilograms of carbon equivalent.
While a lot still needs to be done, it is encouraging that some clothing companies are becoming involved when a decade ago, there was little talk of sustainable fashion. To make the garment industry more sustainable, all participants need to get involved, from designers to manufacturers, consumers and suppliers, such as rental platforms.
Shanya Suppasiritad is the founder and CEO of Rntr., a white label recommerce platform that enables apparel brands to offer rental, resale, and repair services directly on their websites. With a commitment to sustainability and circular fashion, Rntr. empowers brands to provide their customers with an enhanced shopping experience while reducing environmental impact. Shanya was the inaugural recipient of the TWOGOOD Grant and winner of the Impact SHIFT! Innovation Challenge, and nominee for the Yarra Sustainability Awards.