Buy Less. Wear More.
Buy Less.
Wear More.
We’re disrupting a centuries old industry and powering a new
frontier for fashion. One in which women buy less, wear more
and contribute to a more sustainable future.
frontier for fashion. One in which women buy less, wear more
and contribute to a more sustainable future.
A majority of the fashion industry’s negative
environmental impacts come from the production of
new clothing.¹ Our goal is for the rental of pre-loved
clothing to replace the purchase and production of
new clothing.
A majority of the fashion industry’s negative environmental impacts come from the production of new clothing.¹ Our goal is for the rental of pre-loved clothing to replace the purchase and production of new clothing.
We’re Shifting Consumer Behaviors
We’re Shifting
Consumer Behaviors
We aim to shift customers to a buy less, rent more approach
to fashion in order to displace the need for clothing production.
to fashion in order to displace the need for clothing production.
Here’s how our members’ shopping
habits have changed since joining
a membership.
Here’s how our members’ shopping habits have changed since joining a membership.
89% say they buy fewer clothes than
they used prior to joining RTR²
1/3 report purchasing 6-20+ fewer
items of clothing per month since
joining RTR²
83% say they have consumed less fast
fashion since using RTR²
We’re Reducing Negative Environmental
Impacts Through Rental
We’re Reducing Negative
Environmental Impacts
Through Rental
We’re continuing to take steps to understand and
improve our impact, extend the life of our
garments and eliminate waste from our operations.
improve our impact, extend the life of our
garments and eliminate waste from our operations.
When a customer rents a garment from our Closet in
the Cloud, the result is net environmental savings
compared to purchasing new.³
When a customer rents a garment from our Closet in the Cloud, the result is net environmental savings compared to purchasing new.³
24% reduction in water usage
6% reduction in energy usage
3% reduction in C0² emissions
In the past decade, we estimate⁴ that our
rental model has displaced the need for
production of 1.3 million new garments, saving:
In the past decade, we estimate⁴ that our rental model has displaced the need for production of 1.3 million new garments, saving:
67 million gallons of water —
a.k.a. 134 million days of
drinking water for one person
Enough electricity to power 12,657
households for a year
C0² emissions equivalent to
47,737 roundtrip flights between
Newark, NJ and Dallas, TX
We’re continuing to focus on extending the life
of our products and eliminating waste from
our operations. As of June 2021:
We’re continuing to focus on extending the life of our products and eliminating waste from our operations. As of June 2021:
THE FASHION INDUSTRY DILEMMA
We’re Advocating for
Action Now
We’re Advocating
for Action Now
Our efforts are just the beginning, but there’s lots
of work to be done. Here’s what we’re up against.
of work to be done. Here’s what we’re up against.
Today too much clothing is produced, which
takes a tremendous toll on the environment.
Today too much clothing is
produced, which takes a tremendous
toll on the environment.
1.2 billion tons of C0² equivalent emissions
generated by textile production in 2015.⁵
That’s more than the emissions for all
international flights and maritime
shipping combined that year.⁵
Approximately 93 billion cubic meters
of water used for textile production per year.⁵
We estimate that’s about half of what
Americans drink annually.
To make it worse, consumers' appetites
for newness is continuing to grow.
To make it worse, consumers' appetites
for newness is continuing to grow.
70 vs 40, that’s the estimated number of
items of clothing consumers purchased in 2014
versus in 1990.⁶
Approximately double; that’s how much
clothing production grew from 2002 to 2017.⁵
As a result, this contributes to low levels of
clothing utilization and high levels of waste.
As a result, this contributes to low levels of clothing utilization and high levels of waste.
33% of women consider an outfit to be “old”
after wearing it fewer than three times.⁷
150 million tons of clothing will be in landfill or
burned by 2050 if we continue in a
business-as-usual scenario.⁵
It’s Time to Join the Movement
It’s Time to Join the Movement
Make renting a part of your lifestyle and contribute to a better
future for fashion and our environment.
future for fashion and our environment.
1. Rent the Runway third-party Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
2. Rent the Runway June 2021 Customer Survey.
3. Percentages are based on the calculation of the environmental impact of each life cycle phase for linear consumption as presented in a third-party life cycle assessment Rent the Runway commissioned and calculated on a weighted average basis across 12 product categories assessed in the LCA. Life cycle phases include production (including raw material extraction and manufacturing, yarn manufacturing, fabric manufacturing, apparel production), operations, transport, and end of life.
4. Displacement was calculated by (Rental Wears – Linear Wears) / Linear Wears, where “Rental Wears” is an estimate of the total amount of wears of RTR garments and “Linear Wears” is an estimate of how many garments would have been bought and worn in the traditional manner (which is not a rental model), had the Rental Wears not taken place. The displacement per category was then multiplied by the estimated number of units across all product categories from 2010 to 2021. Environmental savings are based on LCA results and specifically the net upstream production impact across 12 product categories assessed in the LCA. Equivalency estimates were calculated using EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator and data from ICAO.
5. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future, 2017.
6. Wall Street Journal, Ups and Downs of U.S. Clothes Shopping, September 2014.
7. Hubbub, Inc.
2. Rent the Runway June 2021 Customer Survey.
3. Percentages are based on the calculation of the environmental impact of each life cycle phase for linear consumption as presented in a third-party life cycle assessment Rent the Runway commissioned and calculated on a weighted average basis across 12 product categories assessed in the LCA. Life cycle phases include production (including raw material extraction and manufacturing, yarn manufacturing, fabric manufacturing, apparel production), operations, transport, and end of life.
4. Displacement was calculated by (Rental Wears – Linear Wears) / Linear Wears, where “Rental Wears” is an estimate of the total amount of wears of RTR garments and “Linear Wears” is an estimate of how many garments would have been bought and worn in the traditional manner (which is not a rental model), had the Rental Wears not taken place. The displacement per category was then multiplied by the estimated number of units across all product categories from 2010 to 2021. Environmental savings are based on LCA results and specifically the net upstream production impact across 12 product categories assessed in the LCA. Equivalency estimates were calculated using EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator and data from ICAO.
5. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future, 2017.
6. Wall Street Journal, Ups and Downs of U.S. Clothes Shopping, September 2014.
7. Hubbub, Inc.
