Renting Clothing Is Worse For The Planet Than Just Throwing It Away, Study Shows

Fashion companies keep trying to convince us that their business models are sustainable. From clothing rental platforms like Rent the Runway to resale sites like ThredUp to brands like Everlane that use recycled plastic. But until now, there’s been very little data about whether these approaches are actually better for the planet. In Finland, a team of researchers wants to clear things up. In a recent study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, they calculate the greenhouse gas emissions connected to five different ways of owning and disposing of clothing, including resale, recycling, and renting. Their findings were disturbing. Renting clothes had the highest climate impact of all—even higher than just throwing them away. And recycling also had a high climate impact, because industrial recycling processes generate a lot of emissions. Read more at Fast Company.