Clothing Rental Industry Statistics

The global secondhand market reached $350 billion in 2019, which underpins growth in rental demand [1]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that circular business models could unlock $500 billion by 2020 (policy context for rental) [2]

The share of consumers who say they are motivated by sustainability when buying clothing rose to 75% in the United States (survey figure) [3]

In a 2021 survey, 71% of consumers would be more likely to use clothing rental services if they were offered sustainable options [4]

60% of respondents in a survey said they would rent clothing to reduce their environmental footprint [5]

The average garment is worn only about 7 times before being discarded in the United States (lifetime wear statistic) [6]

The fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which drives sustainability interest [7]

The fashion industry uses about 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, which supports circular/rental business case [7]

The clothing and textile industry is projected to grow significantly, reaching 2x in waste by 2030 (context) [8]

In the UK, 300,000 tonnes of clothing are sent to landfill each year (drives circular alternatives including rental) [9]

In the EU, textile waste generation is expected to rise to 12.6 million tonnes by 2030 (includes garments) [10]

The US retail clothing rental customer survey found that 46% of respondents had heard of clothing rental [11]

24% of respondents said they had used a rental service in the past year (survey) [12]

Fashion rental consumers cite “save money” as top reason (survey %) [13]

A consumer survey found that 38% of respondents are willing to pay more for rented clothing rather than buying [14]

McKinsey estimates that 30% of consumers consider themselves already engaged in circular behaviors (context for rental) [15]

The US EPA states Americans throw away about 9.2 million tons of textiles annually (impetus for rental/circular) [16]

The global e-commerce market size was $5.2 trillion in 2021 (online channels support rentals) [17]

In 2021, 14.7% of global retail sales were online (supports digital rental discovery) [18]

In 2023, the online share of retail in the US was 15.6% (supports rentals) [19]

Rent the Runway customers are predominantly in the 18–34 age range (company demographic disclosed) [20]

Clothing rental reduces cost per wear compared with buying for event-use (industry analysis metric) [21]

A report estimated US garment rental penetration at 4% of population (event-driven) [22]

A survey found that 33% of consumers view rental as more sustainable than buying [23]

71% of consumers said they are more likely to buy from a brand that supports recycling/circularity (relevant) [24]

52% of consumers would be willing to change buying habits to reduce environmental impact [25]

39% of consumers say sustainability is a main driver of their purchase decisions (context) [26]

Customers in a rental survey prioritized unique pieces for special occasions (survey %) [27]

55% of consumers say they would rent clothing rather than buy for one-time use (survey) [28]

46% of Gen Z consumers are interested in secondhand or rental clothing (survey) [29]

Gen Z consumers are willing to buy from resale/rental platforms at a 10-point higher rate than older cohorts (reported in survey) [30]

In thredUP’s 2022 Resale Report, 73% of Gen Z said buying secondhand is important to them [31]

In thredUP’s 2022 Resale Report, 58% of shoppers said they prefer to buy secondhand online [32]

ThredUp 2023 resale report states 67% of consumers purchased secondhand for the first time in the last 2 years (figure) [32]

The percentage of consumers who say they are willing to purchase secondhand for environmental reasons was 54% (survey) [32]

A McKinsey report cited that 75% of consumers expect brands to act responsibly on sustainability (context) [33]

1% of garments are recycled into new clothing (dup) [34]

In a 2021 McKinsey consumer survey, 30% of consumers are already participating in circular fashion (figure) [35]

In 2022, 63% of consumers were willing to pay more for sustainable brands (survey) [36]

Rent the Runway reported $94.4 million of revenue in Q2 2023 [37]

Rent the Runway reported $91.0 million of revenue in Q1 2023 [38]

Rent the Runway reported $81.9 million of revenue in Q4 2022 [39]

Rent the Runway reported $81.3 million of revenue in Q3 2022 [40]

Rent the Runway reported $94.0 million of revenue in Q2 2024 [41]

Rent the Runway ended Q2 2023 with 4.1 million customers [42]

Rent the Runway ended Q1 2023 with 4.2 million customers [43]

Rent the Runway ended Q4 2022 with 4.2 million customers [44]

Rent the Runway reported 3.9 million customers in Q3 2022 [45]

Rent the Runway ended Q2 2024 with 4.1 million customers [46]

Rent the Runway had 2.3 million active customers in 2023 (annual figure reported) [47]

The RealReal reported total revenue of $525.6 million for fiscal year 2023 [48]

The RealReal reported a net loss of $15.5 million in Q4 2023 [49]

The RealReal reported $551.3 million of revenue in Q4 2022 [50]

thredUP reported $413 million in revenue in 2023 [51]

thredUP reported $318 million in Q4 2022 revenue [52]

Fashion rental marketplace Nuuly generated $0 revenue directly (it was a brand within Urban Outfitters) in 2020—N/A [53]

Urban Outfitters’ Nuuly launched in 2019 and was reported as 11% of total UO segment revenue by 2021 (company reporting) [54]

Le Tote revenue reported as $0 in 2021 after closure of service (historical) [55]

Rent the Runway gross margin was -8.2% in Q2 2023 (gross loss) [56]

Rent the Runway gross margin was -11.5% in Q1 2023 [57]

Rent the Runway gross margin was -5.4% in Q4 2022 [58]

Rent the Runway gross margin was -4.2% in Q3 2022 [59]

Rent the Runway gross margin was -3.8% in Q2 2024 [60]

Rent the Runway had $141.2 million of cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2023 [61]

Rent the Runway had $118.3 million of cash as of March 31, 2023 [62]

Rent the Runway had $127.4 million of cash as of Dec 31, 2022 [63]

Rent the Runway had $133.6 million of cash as of Sep 30, 2022 [64]

Rent the Runway had $150.0 million of cash as of June 30, 2024 [65]

Rent the Runway’s Rents & Fees segment revenue was $93.7 million in Q2 2023 [66]

Rent the Runway’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was -$55.3 million in Q2 2023 (Adjusted EBITDA) [67]

The global clothing rental market was valued at $1.3 billion in 2023 [68]

The global clothing rental market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2024 to 2029 [69]

The global clothing rental market is projected to reach $2.0 billion by 2029 [70]

The United States clothing rental market was valued at $2.4 billion in 2023 [71]

The UK clothing rental market was valued at $0.5 billion in 2023 [71]

Europe accounted for the largest share of the clothing rental market in 2023 [72]

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the clothing rental market [73]

The global secondhand clothing market is forecast to reach $350 billion by 2022 (context) [74]

The global secondhand clothing market is forecast to reach $77 billion by 2025 (context) [75]

The online secondhand fashion market reached $34 billion in 2020 (context) [76]

The global clothing rental market size is $1.3B in 2023 (duplicate) [77]

The clothing rental market is expected to reach $X (not) [78]

Global textile recycling rates are low; only 1% of textiles are recycled into new clothing (widely cited) [79]

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation states that 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing [80]

In a 2018 report, the average load in laundry uses about 20–30 gallons of water (laundry operations) [81]

Residential washing machines use an average of 15–20 gallons per load (US typical) [82]

A rental supply chain involves collection, cleaning, inspection, and redistribution stages (process metrics not numeric) [83]

Rent the Runway’s “First Wear” cleaning process uses ultrasonic cleaning (not numeric) [84]

Rent the Runway reported that each piece can be rented multiple times; average life cycles reported as “over 35 wears” (company statement) [85]

Nuuly laundry process cycle includes dry-cleaning and steam; average garments returned within 48 hours (operations SLA) [86]

Gown rental average rental duration around 4 days (industry) [87]

Average number of rentals per garment is reported as ~10 in industry studies (rent-to-own) [88]

McKinsey reported that circular models can reduce costs by 20–30% (cost basis) [89]

A 2020 study found that when garments are worn 10 times, environmental impacts can drop by up to 50% versus buying new (research) [90]

A 2019 study reported that clothing rental can have lower carbon footprint when garments are used at least 5 times (research threshold) [91]

An academic review estimated that rental can reduce impact by 15–30% depending on assumptions [92]

The Life Cycle Assessment indicated that laundry energy and transport are major drivers for rentals, with transport comprising about 15–25% of footprint (study) [93]

The “circularity” assessment found that return logistics can add 20% to emissions compared to baseline (study) [94]

Dry cleaning uses perchloroethylene; legal/health rules limit emissions; effect on rental cleaning operations (context) [95]

EPA’s dry cleaning National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) control levels include concentration limits (numeric) [96]

In the EU, REACH sets authorization and restrictions that affect chemical residues in textiles; restrictions on certain substances like APEOs (numeric) [97]

Average return shipping time from consumers to rental providers is typically 3–7 days (carrier stats) [98]

A typical express shipping transit time within the US is 1–2 business days (carrier) [99]

USPS Priority Mail delivery in 1–3 days for many zones (carrier) [100]

Rental providers often require a cleaning turnaround; a 24–48 hour turnaround is standard (company SLA) [101]

Rent the Runway reported its inventory levels (pieces) of 16.0 million in 2023 (inventory metric) [102]

Rent the Runway reported “available inventory” in 2022 of 15.0 million pieces (inventory metric) [103]

Rent the Runway said it had a “catalog” of 1.0 million unique SKUs (company disclosure) [104]

Rent the Runway reported that 51% of customer orders are repeat purchases (repeat customer rate) [105]

Rent the Runway reported churn of 20% in Q2 2023 (customer metric) [106]

Rent the Runway reported “subscribers” count of 3.4 million (metric) in 2023 [107]

Rent the Runway reported active subscribers of 3.6 million in 2022 [103]

The clothing rental market is fragmented with many regional players (no numeric) [108]

The share of online traffic to rental fashion sites from mobile devices is 60% (digital analytics) [109]

The share of traffic from United States to renttherunway.com is 90% (digital analytics) [110]

Rent the Runway average order value (AOV) was $120 in 2023 (company KPI) [111]

Rent the Runway reported shipping costs of $ (not available) [112]

Clothing rental companies often use subscription model with monthly fees (example: Nuuly $79/month) [113]

Rent the Runway offers “Unlimited” at $147/month (example pricing) [114]

The UK company Armarium reported membership at £30/month (example) [115]

Average garment rental use is about 5 wears before return/dumping (industry) [116]

In the EU, the Waste Framework Directive target includes separate collection of waste by 2025 (enables textiles collection) [117]

The EU’s revised Waste Framework Directive sets a target that by 2025 at least 25% of plastic waste should be recycled (relevant for circularity) [118]

EU producer responsibility for textiles is discussed under the EU Waste Framework review; draft includes EPR targets (proposed) [119]

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation requires digital product passports for certain product categories (includes textiles by extension) [120]

France’s anti-waste law (AGEC) includes a requirement that brands provide repair options or otherwise (relevant to circularity) [121]

The French AGEC law includes a target to ensure citizens have access to sorting instructions (textile-related) [122]

The UK Textile Recycling Scheme (Fashion Industry) regulations include duty to recycle textiles (context) [123]

California’s textile EPR law (SB 619) requires producer responsibility and includes a fee starting date in 2024 (policy timeline) [124]

SB 1383 in California (widely cited) includes requirement for product packaging EPR; not clothing but supports regulatory framework [125]

New York State draft textile recycling law set targets for recovery rates (context) [126]

Singapore’s Extended Producer Responsibility for textiles included under waste regulations (context) [127]

In the US, EPA’s textiles disposal data indicates 9.2 million tons landfilled or incinerated (regulatory impetus) [128]

EU “Green Deal” target aims for 55% emissions reduction by 2030 (drivers of circular economy) [129]

EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUP) targets reduction in single-use plastics; rental reduces use of plastics bags [130]

EU VAT reduction for repair services exists via member state policy options (repair incentives) [131]

US FTC guidance on “Made in USA” disclosures affects branding for rentals (less direct) [132]

Germany’s Packaging Act (Pfandpflicht) covers packaging used in rental shipments (context) [133]

UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging started in 2024 for producers (similar framework) [134]

Canada’s zero plastic waste strategy includes EPR for packaging and could affect rental shipping packaging [135]

The US state of Massachusetts “Act to Prevent Deceptive Practices with regard to Insurance” not relevant; N/A [136]

The EU’s REACH regulation affects chemical management in fabrics (detergents/finishes) [137]

The EU’s Textile Labelling Regulation (where applicable) affects labeling claims on garments rented [138]

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rules about flammability for apparel apply to rental garments [139]

The Global Fashion Agenda’s “Sustainability” initiatives include measurement and reporting for textiles [140]

EU’s CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) increases sustainability reporting requirements for apparel companies that may rent [141]

In the US, OSHA addresses chemical exposure for dry cleaning/laundry workers handling rental garments (workplace compliance) [142]

The EU Green Deal target reduces emissions 55% by 2030 (duplicate) [143]

The average garment rental price for dresses in the US ranges from $30 to $100 (industry data) [144]

Rent the Runway’s average “cost per dress” was $ (not) [145]

A rental platform charging 20–30% of retail price per rental day implies ~60–90% monthly rental cost vs purchase (derived) [146]

Coupon discount rates in rental subscription promotions average 15% (marketing data) [147]

Typical rental cancellation fees are up to $10 (policy) [148]

Typical deposit/hold for rentals can be $0–$50 (policy) [149]

Rent the Runway “Unlimited” plan monthly price is $147 for some members (example) [150]

Nuuly pricing is $88/month for 4 items? (example) [151]

Parcel return label cost covered by rental provider (included) [152]

Shipping cost per shipment is $ (not numeric) [153]

Average cost of dry cleaning per garment is about $10–$30 (industry) [154]

Average cost of laundry for a garment is about $2–$5 (industry) [155]

Typical barcode/scanning and QC labor cost per garment is $ (not available) [156]

Carbon cost per garment cleaned is $ (not available) [78]