Like Uber for clothes: Millennial startup wants to fight fast fashion with closet rentals

Londoner Jenessa Olson has always loved clothes, but she distinctly remembers the moment she realized her love of cheap fashion came at a cost.

It was 2013, and Olson's undergraduate business ethics course was discussing the Rana Plaza building collapse. The industrial disaster killed 1,100 people, many of whom were garment factory workers for fast fashion brands like Joe Fresh.

Olson says she walked out of class 'heartbroken.'

That moment was the germ of an idea that's grown into STMNT, a clothing rental start-up that Olson launched with her sister, Madison, this year. The aim is to reduce demand for fast fashion—without denying shoppers the pleasures of a new outfit—by helping them find pre-existing garments in other people's closets, Olson said.

"It's a way for people to participate in conscious consumption, by decreasing the demand for new items [and] increasing access to items that are already out there," she said.

Officially, the business is now just three weeks old, and has so far operated largely through Instagram transactions and a 'pop-up' shop, according to Madison Olson, 24.

At the first STMNT pop-up, renters met in-person to sift through racks of garments, and booked clothing in advance of future social engagements. The day before the event, they'll pick their new-to-them outfit up at STMNT's headquarters at Somerville House on Western University campus, then bring it back the next day. 

"It is really making income off the clothes that are literally just hanging in your closet," said Madison Olson.

So far, 'about half' of STMNT users have been sorority girls, who typically have about six to 10 events in the month of November alone, Jenessa Olson said.

"That is a lot of outfits," she said.

And while not everyone's social calendar may be quite so full, Jenessa Olson said STMNT has also seen demand from other demographics, like young professionals and moms. 

"Basically people that don't have time to shop and look for new things, because they have super busy schedules and they have financial accountability to their families and their businesses," she said. 

"So they have been a big market that we weren't initially anticipating would be so big."

Next step: going mobile

Given the current time of year, the business' focus has so far been on Christmas and New Year's outfits, but the sisters say they have broader aspirations. 

In the works for 2019 is a STMNT app, similar to AirBNB, that will ultimately serve as the main platform for the business. Lenders will post photos of their garments online, and organize their clothing hand-offs independently.

STMNT earns money and pays for overhead charges, like app development and dry cleaning, by tacking on a 15 per cent administration fee, Jenessa Olson said. They also enforce a strict "you break it, you buy it policy" for damaged garments.

Although Jenessa said the business is  turning a profit, it is also primarily self-funded ("Madison and I dipped into the wedding funds. We're both eloping!" she said).

Citing the recent explosion of sharing economy platforms like Uber and AirBNB, Jenessa said she's confident STMNT will do alright.

"When we talk about being a business that doesn't own any inventory, and you give the rap sheet of these massive companies that are the behemoths of our time, it really hits home with people," she said.