For the millions of converts to clothing rental platforms like Rent the Runway, Le Tote and Gwynnie Bee, trying out the latest trends without destroying the planet is a big part of the allure. I recently leased a gold sequin skirt and a ruffled red dress for date night—the kind of wear-it-once styles documented on Instagram and then tossed out—without any of the guilt I feel when buying fast fashion, which is notorious for its water pollution, labor abuses and textile waste.
Over the summer, Urban Outfitters, Macy's, Banana Republic, American Eagle, and Bloomingdale's announced their own rental subscription services, which industry analysts clocked as a bid to appeal to conscious consumers. And in a sign of just how lucrative renting clothes has become, Le Tote is set to acquire former retail giant Lord & Taylor. But as rental fashion becomes big business, it's worth asking: Just how sustainable is constantly borrowing clothes?
The short answer, according to the half-dozen sustainability experts I spoke to for this story, is that we don't exactly know. Despite some rental platforms advertising themselves as inherently green, there has yet to be an in-depth environmental study of their operations. And yet experts have spotted a number of environmental pitfalls in the business model, from the proliferation of energy-consuming dry cleaning facilities to carbon-spewing deliveries and returns.
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