Collaborative consumption
Collaborative Consumption, also known as the sharing economy or peer-to-peer sharing, refers to a consumption model in which individuals or communities share resources, products, or services among themselves rather than owning them individually.
It is a shift away from traditional ownership-based consumption towards a more collaborative and access-based approach. In the fashion domain, collaborative consumption involves sharing and exchanging clothing and accessories, allowing individuals to access a wide range of fashion items without the need for full ownership.
Collaborative consumption can take various forms. One prominent example is clothing rental platforms, where individuals can rent garments for a specific period rather than purchasing them outright. These platforms provide access to a diverse selection of clothing styles and brands, allowing users to experiment with different looks and wear designer pieces at a fraction of the cost. It promotes a more sustainable approach to fashion by reducing the need for single-use garments and encouraging the reuse of clothing items.
Another aspect of collaborative consumption in fashion is peer-to-peer sharing platforms, where individuals can lend or borrow clothing from one another. These platforms facilitate direct interactions between users, creating a community-driven sharing network.
Users can list their own clothing items that they are willing to lend, and others can borrow those items for a specific duration. This fosters a sense of community and promotes the idea of shared ownership, enabling individuals to maximize the usage of their wardrobe and reduce the overall demand for new clothing.
Collaborative consumption in the fashion domain can also extend to clothing swaps or exchanges. These events or online platforms enable individuals to exchange their pre-owned clothing items with others. Participants bring in garments they no longer wear or need and can swap them for items of similar value. Clothing swaps promote sustainability by giving garments a new lease on life and reducing the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills.
Furthermore, collaborative consumption can involve co-creation platforms where users can participate in the design process of fashion items. This allows individuals to contribute their ideas, preferences, and skills, resulting in personalized and unique clothing pieces. Through these platforms, users can collaborate with designers or brands to create custom-made garments or accessories, fostering a sense of involvement and creativity in the fashion experience.
Case studies
Rent the Runway – Subscription-based fashion rental
Rent the Runway operates a subscription and one-off rental model that allows users to access designer clothing and accessories without owning them. By rotating garments through multiple users and offering repair and cleaning in-house, the platform extends product lifetimes and reduces demand for new production, embodying collaborative, access-based fashion consumption.
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HURR – Peer-to-peer and B2B rental platform
HURR is a UK-based fashion rental platform that combines peer-to-peer lending with brand and retailer partnerships. Users list, rent, and borrow occasionwear and everyday garments, while HURR provides logistics, insurance, and cleaning infrastructure, turning individual wardrobes into a shared resource and supporting circular, collaborative fashion use.
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ThredUp – Online consignment and resale
ThredUp is a large-scale online consignment and thrift platform that enables users to send in unwanted garments for resale via a managed marketplace. By aggregating supply from many households and redistributing it to new wearers, ThredUp operationalises collaborative consumption at scale and provides value-chain data on second-hand fashion flows.
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Vestiaire Collective – Luxury resale community
Vestiaire Collective is a global resale marketplace focused on pre-owned luxury and premium fashion. Its community-based model encourages users to sell, buy, and authenticate second-hand items, extending the life of high-value garments and accessories while framing resale as a mainstream, collaborative mode of fashion consumption.
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Vinted – Everyday peer-to-peer second-hand fashion
Vinted is a peer-to-peer platform where users list, buy, and swap second-hand clothing, shoes, and accessories across multiple European markets. The service lowers transaction friction for casual wardrobe circulation and normalises collaborative, user-to-user redistribution as an everyday alternative to purchasing new fashion.
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References
Arrigo, E. (2021). Collaborative consumption in the fashion industry: A systematic literature review and conceptual framework. Journal of Cleaner Production, 325, 129261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129261
Gopalakrishnan, S., & Matthews, D. (2018). Collaborative consumption: A business model analysis of second-hand fashion. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 22(3), 354–368. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-05-2017-0049
Henninger, C. E., Brydges, T., Iran, S., & Vladimirova, K. (2021). Collaborative fashion consumption – A synthesis and future research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 319, 128648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128648
Lee, S. E., Jung, H. J., & Lee, K.-H. (2021). Motivating collaborative consumption in fashion: Consumer benefits, perceived risks, service trust, and usage intention of online fashion rental services. Sustainability, 13(4), 1804. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041804
Michalak, S., Bartkowiak, P., Ankiel, M., Olejniczak, T., & Stachowiak-Krzyżan, M. (2022). Motives for the usage of collaborative fashion consumption online platforms. Marketing of Scientific and Research Organizations, 44(2), 41–66. https://doi.org/10.2478/minib-2022-0008