INTERVIEW #3 HACK YOUR CLOSET
Would you be willing to try different clothes that has been selected to you based on your preferences? You can keep your favourites for long and it costs less than 300 SEK per month. Did I mentioned that all of the clothes are pre-loved and meant to be loved again? Sounds good, doesn’t it? These are the words of Hack Your Closet one of the online sustainable consumptions offers available now!
“We believe that if we can change people’s habits and thoughts around second-hand or shared clothing, we can really make a difference”
Why did you start Hack Your Closet?
The clothing industry is one of the most polluting and wasteful industries in the world. There’s an urgent need for it to reimagine itself and build a more sustainable future. We started the company with the mission to prevent and reduce waste, but also the vision to change the way people access clothes, own clothes, and consume clothes.
What is your business model and how does it practically work?
To start using our service, you will have to create your style profile through our app or our website. After you have subscribed for 279 SEK/month, you will receive 4 items each month. The items are selected by your closet assistant or stylist and can be kept for as long as 6 months. All of the items that we collect are taken out of the waste stream, which means anything from leftovers to pre-loved. We extend their lifetime by cycling the items between our customers.
What has been/and is the major challenges?
Our major challenge is to change the mentality and educate the consumers. We believe that if we can change people’s habits and thoughts around second-hand or shared clothing, we can really make a difference.
Making people realize how valuable every piece of clothing is, and how much work, pollution, money and time it takes to produce them, has been and is a challenge because of how the fast fashion industry looks like today.
What has been/is the largest gains?
“Sustainability doesn’t always go with compromises and doesn’t have to be expensive”
The biggest gain for us is to see how fast we have been able to make an impact and win our customer’s love for what we do. We have also received a lot of support from the entire ecosystem.
Today we are making partnership with industry leaders even though we’ve existed for only a couple of months.
What do you think needs to change now in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?
“The fashion industry needs to rethink its business-as-usual strategy: go from a linear business model (take-make-use-dispose) to circular business models ”
The fashion industry needs to rethink its business-as-usual strategy: go from a linear business model (take-make-use-dispose) to circular business models where the primary goal is to design out waste. A good approach for the well-known large enterprises in the fashion industry could be to collaborate with and embrace smaller initiatives, startups, and projects that can help them close the loop. A circular business model involves many stakeholders from different niches and industries, and they all need to collaborate for it to work.
What do you believe is “greenwashing” and what can producers and consumers do to avoid it?
“Staying informed is the key to great actions”
Greenwashing is stating that you are sustainable or are doing something good for the environment, while you are continually doing something that contradicts it. For example, greenwashing could be to offer the customers discounts to boost consumption when handing in your old garments for recycling. They offer the customers a reward for being environmentally friendly when the reward actually drives the customers to do something that is the opposite of environmentally friendly.
To be green-for-real and not do greenwashing, you have to build the company, product, and service from that approach from the beginning, or change the entire business. Sustainability is not an add-on to boost something else in your business, it should be incorporated into the strategy of the company and shine through everything you do.
As a consumer, you should think about the reasoning behind a company’s willingness to reward you for a sustainable action. Is there anything behind that reward that doesn’t do any good for the environment? And most importantly, staying informed is the key to great actions.
What would you advise consumers to do who seeks to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?
Sustainability doesn’t always go with compromises and doesn’t have to be expensive. When we priced our subscription, we were wishing that consumers will eventually reduce their closet costs and put those savings into dreams and bigger projects.
If clothes are a big part of your life and like many of us, you like a fun and diverse closet you should turn to clothing rental services like Hackyourcloset.com. It’s fun to get a closet on constant rotation and if it helps save the planet at the same time, why not try?
Surprise yourself with a rented new outfit - visit Hack Your Closet!