In recent years, our closets have been rapidly expanding, as fast fashion companies made us think that we need to own large amounts of garments – that’s how they make money. This is leading to our wardrobe including more pieces than ever, while we keep an average garment for a much shorter time.

However, it turns out that this mindset of needing to own more and more cheap clothing is terrible for the environment and the people making our clothes, as well as our wellbeing.

The negative impact of owning clothing

Currently, most of us own the majority of the clothes we wear – and whether your closet is big or small, there are several limitations associated with this.

Firstly, think about the last time you wore a garment to death, to a point when there was no way it could be re-worn again. Chances are, this doesn’t happen very often. Most of us end up disposing of clothes that could still be worn – which is why 84% of unwanted clothing ends up in landfills(including a significant portion of that which is donated).

Owning clothing is especially environmentally harmful if you’re somebody who likes to switch up their look often. You may then find yourself in a situation where you’re torn between your sense ofstyle and the desire to act more sustainably, which you can’t possibly resolve when you own all the clothing you wear.

Lastly, we must not forget that we live in times when property costs are skyrocketing. Whether you are renting or own your home, every square foot of space is becoming increasingly expensive. Therefore, we should be giving more thought to how we are utilizing this space. A closet takes upsignificant square footage, which could otherwise be used as living space – and the more variety you want, the more space you need.

Rented clothing as a solution

Rented clothing is an emerging solution to many of the issues of owning all the clothing you wear. Most of us were only used to rented clothing for special occasions in the past when this is an option we could make use of on a regular basis.

By opting for rented clothes, we could cut down on a significant portion of our clothing waste, as every garment would be used to its full potential instead of being thrown away and adding to the existing textile waste piling up in our landfills. This is a switch the current fashion industry desperately needs.

Rented clothing can also allow us to dress sustainably while keeping our outfits varied and switching up our style – an ideal solution if you’re looking to figure out what works best for you without spending a lot of money or endangering the environment.

Last but not least, choosing rented clothing frees up a lot of space that would otherwise be filled with out-of-season garments we haven’t gotten around to wear much.