Collaborative Consumption: A Study of Sustainability Presentation in Fashion Rental Platforms

Abstract

Despite the increased research into the business potential and environmental impact of fashion renting, no previous research has studied the sustainable presentation of fashion (apparel, textiles, shoe, accessory, or jewelry) rental company platforms, which is the purpose of this study. The triple bottom line framework and content analysis methods were used to identify themes in their communications. An open coding method was applied to develop first-level concepts and sub-categories, followed by a calculation of the frequency of the aspects addressed on each website. A total of 56 active fashion rental businesses in the U.S. were identified and analyzed. A total of 11 main themes and 27 sub-themes emerged. The companies with the overall most mentioned sub-themes were REI and The Lauren Look by Ralph Lauren. The results indicate that sustainability information on company websites needs to be more organized for clear presentation and easy access to the public. Many companies can make simple adjustments such as educating consumers on the sustainable nature of their business model and providing data-related evidence for determining the social and environmental impacts. Companies must also provide more detailed information on COVID-19 cleaning/sanitizing practices to reduce the perceived risk while promoting consumers’ willingness to try fashion rental services.