Every single one of us has heard of fast fashion, sustainability and the world’s need to consume smarter, and less. We’ve all probably felt a little guilty buying cheap fashion to stay on trend because, let’s face it, there’s a new one every few weeks and unless you’re wealthy, keeping up can be expensive. So why is it so hard to do the right thing?
Firstly, fashion is for most of us, a guilty pleasure! We shop when we’re stressed, and scroll our social media eyeing the latest trends and offerings from designers and fashion brands around the world day after day. Fashion is our mood, and our closet is our tool to dress the part for the role we play in society at any given time. We shop for an upcoming job interview, need a new outfit for each date we go on, and of course socialising. Fashion immediately gives us status, validation and also our identity. But, this means that the need to be in constantly evolving looks has become our new normal and being seen in the same outfit more than once, frowned upon, so consuming more becomes our only option.
The entire system is flawed – encouraging us to buy more and new, four times a year (at least) with seasons that grace the runway under glittering lights and thumping music, and broadcast live around the world to ensure we all see it. Stores worldwide then churn out cheaper versions for us to buy. We see the blog releases and influencers updated with the latest and greatest outfits, competing to outdo each other with each wave, and wish we were amongst them. Being on trend is now part of our social collective mind. So much so that making smart and eco-conscious choices have become increasingly hard with this pressure to conform and be on trend, and the cycle continues. The real question now becomes: how can we possibly strike a balance?
Borrowing clothing is no new strategy. Most of us have borrowed a friend’s shoes or jewellery or outfit at some point, and vice versa. Clothing Rental companies aren’t new either; Men have rented suits for years, and women rent dresses for events, weddings and parties. In fact, the Clothing Rental industry is booming and expected to be worth $990 million dollars by 2025!
At the moment though, even though it’s us as individuals that need the service, most of that money goes to businesses, not us. Well, of course individuals aren’t businesses and we agree! It’s a challenge to buy countless outfits in multiple sizes for others, but, if you knew that you could make $5-$50 even $100 for some items of clothing in your closet a few times a year, wouldn’t you? It’s this thinking that made us believe at feimso, that all of us that have a wardrobe full of clothes, should be able to easily be a part of this sustainable approach to fashion and make money from it alongside the rental businesses! Simply by having a free virtual space on our App or platform, you can list your clothes, and accessories - provided they’re in good condition - for others to rent. You can also peek inside the closets and wardrobes of countless others around the world!
We welcome businesses, and individuals and by connecting everyone in one place, there will be a new normal on feimso of knowing that someone, somewhere, has exactly the item you’re after, in your size, for a great price and now even the ability to list it for rent! People will continue to buy of course, but possibly consume less by taking part in the increasing rental market. We like the thought of being able to rent any outfit we wanted for a night, which saves us from spending as much money, and makes us feel better about helping the environment!
feimso is launching in 2022 and if you'd like to be part of our journey as a small business or individual, please get in touch!
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