It sounds like the perfect solution. Wear a beautiful dress, return it, let someone else enjoy it next. No wardrobe clutter, no guilt, no garment sitting unworn in a drawer. Fashion rental has been pitched as one of the most exciting answers to fashion's enormous waste problem — and the market is responding. But is renting clothes actually sustainable? The honest answer, backed by the latest research, is: it depends.
The Rental Market Is Growing Fast
Fashion rental is no longer a niche concept. The global fashion rental market was estimated at USD 2.47 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to USD 9.18 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 12.4%. The drivers are a mix of environmental awareness and economics: growing consumer uptake of circular fashion models, the rising cost of high-quality clothing, and the increasing influence of social media and occasion-based dressing — particularly among millennials and Gen Z — are all fuelling this growth.
While North America leads in revenue, the Asia Pacific region is witnessing the fastest growth, fuelled by younger middle-class shoppers desiring variety without long-term commitment. In India specifically, ethnic wear rentals for weddings and festivals have long been a cultural norm — and the digital rental model is now formalising what communities have quietly practised for generations.
Where Rental Fashion Does Reduce Impact
The case for rental is real, and some of the research is compelling. A study from the University of Technology Sydney demonstrates that garment rental substantially increases the frequency a garment is worn while reducing emissions per wear — by up to 78% in the case of low-frequency garments.
Special occasion wear is where the argument is strongest. Special occasion garments, often resource-intensive to produce, are typically worn once or twice, amplifying their environmental footprint. Renting a formal gown for a wedding or a silk blouse for one dinner party, rather than buying something worn only once, is almost certainly the more sustainable choice.
Extending the life of clothing has a significantly positive impact on the planet. Extending the life of clothes by an extra nine months reduces its carbon, water, and waste footprint by around 20–30% each, and cuts the cost in resources used to supply, launder and dispose of clothing by 20%.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
Here's where it gets complicated. The sustainability of fashion rental hinges entirely on logistics — and logistics are rarely clean.
Beyond shipping logistics, the cleaning processes employed by rental services also warrant scrutiny. Sustainability consultant Aja Barber emphasises that the carbon footprint of dry cleaning is often ignored in the equation. Traditional dry cleaning methods often rely on harsh chemicals, and the energy required to clean garments on a large scale can be considerable.
Kate Fletcher, a professor of sustainability, design and fashion systems, raises concerns about how rental services that emphasise availability of "newer" garments contribute to the very cycle fast fashion perpetuates. If a rental platform is constantly refreshing its inventory with new styles to attract subscribers, the environmental savings from sharing garments can be quietly undone by the production of new ones entering the system.
The cumulative impact of packaging, shipping, and dry cleaning, repeated with each rental, can quickly negate the supposed environmental benefits of sharing a garment. And over 90% of the total climate impact from clothing consumption is linked to the purchase of newly produced clothes, with 80% of a garment's climate impact occurring during the production phase. This is crucial context: if rental platforms keep producing new stock, the shared-use benefit shrinks considerably.
The Textile Waste Problem Rental Doesn't Fully Solve
Fashion rental addresses consumption — but not always production. In the European Union, five million tonnes of clothing are discarded each year — around 12 kilos per person. In the USA, the average American generates 37 kilos of textile waste each year. Most of this waste originates not from rented garments but from the mountains of cheap, fast fashion clothing that falls apart quickly and has no rental market value.
The garments most suited to rental — high-quality, durable, beautifully made pieces — are also the garments that deserve to be owned and worn for years. Which raises a question worth sitting with: if a dress is good enough to rent out to twenty people, is it not good enough to simply own, love, and wear for a decade?
What Actually Works: Wearing What You Own, More
No piece of clothing is 100% sustainable — but by wearing your own clothing longer, swapping clothing with friends, and buying pieces that are made ethically and made to last, you help the planet, your budget, and your sense of personal style.
This is where the made-to-order model quietly outperforms the rental model. When a garment is made specifically for you — your measurements, your choice of colour, your intended use — you are far more likely to wear it repeatedly, care for it properly, and keep it for years. There is no overproduction, no excess inventory, no garments circulating through cleaning cycles between strangers. It was made with intention, and it stays with intention.
At ANAHIV, every piece — whether a linen dress or a linen co-ord set — is made only after you order it. Nothing is produced speculatively and left to sit in a warehouse. The garment that arrives at your door was made for you, which means it is far more likely to be worn, loved, and kept than something rented, returned, and barely remembered.
The Honest Verdict
Fashion rental, done well, is better than buying something cheap and wearing it once. Research confirms that peer-to-peer fashion rental can be a viable pathway to reducing the environmental footprint of clothing. But it is not a silver bullet. Its environmental credentials depend entirely on garment quality, cleaning methods, transport distances, and how often items are actually rented.
The most sustainable wardrobe is not a rented one or a resold one — it is a considered one. Buy less. Choose well. Invest in pieces made to last, made without waste, and made specifically for you. Explore the Everyday Ease edit or browse new arrivals to find pieces worth owning for the long term — not just for one weekend.