This question was asked to Julie Bornstein this week on a podcast with Vogue Business. Julie is the co-founder of an innovative mobile app called The Yes. It allows customers to ‘yes’ and ‘no’ products to build their own algorithms and personalise their shopping experience. Over time, the app collects their data and shows them products relevant to their preferences. It’s efficient and the customer gets what they want and they get it quickly. It’s data and tech to the core. And of course for the customer - it’s certainly time well spent!
Going back to the question. Julie believes the notion of owning a beautiful product won’t ever go away.
In terms of future fashion business models, yes resale and rentals will have a market share but she’s not sure if it would ever gain the dominant market share. She went on to say, “there is something innate about humans wanting to own the products they wear. What we wear is a reflection of our mood and personality”.
I agree with Julie. I have some doubts over rental taking a dominant market share. For me, there is definitely space in the landscape for rental; I love that it gives people who can’t ordinarily afford to shop designer (quality) the opportunity to wear a designer (quality) piece of clothing at a price point they can afford. Equally the importance of this business model detracting from overconsumption and overproduction should be applauded.
But I can’t get away from the practicality aspects of the model. The wearer is responsible for maintaining the garment. Insurance can be taken out to cover the cost of repairable damage. However if an item is damaged beyond repair you are expected to pay the cost of the garment to the lender - rightly so. If I had a special occasion and hired a Gucci suit worth more than GBP 2k and I damaged the garment I would be expected to compensate the lender the difference between a day rate of GBP 34 and GBP 2k. A lot - so it probably wouldn’t make it worthwhile for me.
That said I could embrace rental in a working from home type environment. To be able to wear something fabulous for a zoom call at a small price instead of purchasing workwear is something to be considered. Some rental platforms allow you to pay a monthly subscription and they send you a number of items to wear. A great sustainable concept if you don’t want to invest in a workwear wardrobe.
We know consumers are wanting to see more purpose driven brands and Gen Z are demanding more from the brands and the brands cannot ignore them. I believe there will come a point when this will not be a nice-to-have but an absolute necessity for every brand and designer. It makes viable business sense. As Julie sees it, “It’s exciting to see customers demand it, and brands will continue to improve their manufacturing process, be more sustainable and earth friendly”.
In a recent Vogue Business newsletter, Sustainability Editor, Rachel Cernansky leads with the headline article “Resale is scaling. Is that a good thing?”.
What does this mean?
Resale is somewhat more sustainable, yes, but there are still flaws in the business model - both environmental and humanitarian. This is concerning as experts predict a boom in this market..
As an idea it can quite easily be taken advantage of. Resale platforms are being flooded with once worn and unworn fast fashion garments. Knowing re-sale is readily available encourages fast fashion buyers to continue their consumption habits. I worry that fast fashion brands would latch onto this ideology to greenwash their consumers that unsold inventory will be sold on or ‘upcycled’ and is a sustainable business practice - especially knowing that once the products are out of their hands they will not hold themselves accountable for these products once they moved on.
What happens if resale items aren’t sold?
This isn’t straightforward to answer, as different companies operate on different procedures. Some pass on unsold inventory to textile recyclers, of course some will go to landfill, some to charity shops and some pass them back to the seller. What happens after this? Answers appear somewhat vague. As it stands the likeliest option is that it will end up somewhere in the Global South. Which poses another issue in that developing nations often aren’t equipped to deal with this material, they just don’t have the infrastructure in place. It’s less of a problem for luxury as it is for fast fashion. Second hand luxury goods - often referred to as ‘vintage’ is more desirable than second hand fast fashion. Vestaire collective, a platform for selling second hand designer goods sells through 98% of their inventory.
Another possibility is that it will end up in a market such as the Kantamanto market. This is a global secondhand market in Acra, Ghana. The issue here is that the traders purchase the clothes in bundles and don’t get to see what they have bought until they receive it. They can end up with unusable items and the problem of what to do with the unusable items is then left with them. Equally it is often left to women to physically carry the bundles of clothes and get paid $0.50 to $1 for every backbreaking trip. They have no other choices. So resale companies urgently have work to do with this business model to make it more ethical and sustainable.
Some resale businesses recognise this and are committed to taking accountability to solve these issues. Like anything, how quickly this can happen is another matter. If unwanted clothing can’t be sold on there aren’t enough options currently available or in development that solves this problem.
We, at Eloma Consultancy feel strongly for resale taking up a considerable share in the market and for the long term. It’s a highly lucrative business model that has staying power. As part of Selfridges ‘Reselfridge’s’ initiative Beyond Retro has opened a vintage pop up in line with the department store’s vision for a more sustainable future within retail. This further validates the fact that it’s big business if one of the most famous department stores in the world is championing resale both on the shop floor and online. As a model it lessens the need for continued production. And this is the direction we need to be going in.
We talk about fashion’s journey towards sustainability and both rental and resale offer that. As models they are imperfect. But sustainability cannot be achieved overnight and to try to achieve perfection is impossible. It’s a step in the right direction without any doubt.
Ultimately the crux of all fashion’s issues stands with the volume of which we are producing and consuming in the first instance.
We need to reduce newness. Urgently. We cannot keep up with the volume of clothing that is being churned out. The current dominant fashion business models are an environmental and humanitarian issue. One that has seen us all talking for too long with not enough action being taken.
What are your thoughts on the future of fashion brands?
Do you think resale and rental are resilient models that can achieve sustained growth and market share?
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