H&M has decided to trial a new initiative in hopes that it will help reverse some of the environmental effects of fast fashion.
After coming under criticism for its contribution to waste and pollution in the past, the retail giant is now testing a rental option.
The project will allow select shoppers to rent clothes and return them within a selected time frame.
That doesn’t mean you can borrow as many items as you want – H&M is capping the service at 50 garments a month, after which time you can return the clothes or pay to keep them for good.
At the moment, however, the deal is only available at the Swedish retailer’s flagship store in Stockholm, where shoppers can spend a total of 350 kronor (£29.36) a week.
The decision comes after Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie opted for the same strategy, tapping into a market that was worth $1billion in 2018, according to Bloomberg.
Free People and Banana Republic also have a similar service called Style Passport.
If successful after three months, H&M may roll out the offer to its other branches around the world.
Soon you might be able to borrow clothes when you need them without feeling too bad about the environmental cost of fast fashion.
H&M’s service follows a United Nations report, which revealed that the fashion industry is the second greatest polluter of local freshwater in the world and it is also responsible for 10% of the carbon footprint of the world.
The green new rental choice won’t just be open to the average shopper or tourist visiting the store – people hoping to take advantage of it will also need be members of the brand’s loyalty programme.
There are other perks to joining, as the flagship store also offers repair services, a coffee shop and a beauty bar.
‘We have a huge belief in rental, but we still want to test and learn quite a lot and do tweaks and changes,’ Daniel Claesson, H&M’s head of business development, said in a presentation at the flagship.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/01/hm-to-start-renting-clothes-to-shoppers-at-its-flagship-store-in-stockholm-11249060/
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