Two more women’s fashion brands are making headway in the circular economy with new service launches aimed at extending the lifespan of garments. French brand Ba&sh is developing its monobrand rental offering with CaaStle, while sustainably minded American brand Amour Vert is launching its peer-to-peer resale marketplace.
Ba&sh’s service allows customers in the U.S. to rent and wear the brand’s pieces as many times as they like for “a fraction of the retail price,” the French company said., Borrow is powered by CaaStle, the B2B “Clothing-as-a-Service” technology platform that has gotten subscription rental programs off the ground for Ralph Lauren, Rebecca Minkoff and Vince among others.
As part of the service, Ba&sh will include a “Borrow” button alongside select items when consumers view a product. CaaStle implements this button across its fashion partners, so that they can integrate rentals directly into the checkout process. To access Borrow, customers can either directly search the full “Borrow collection” featured under clothing or discover items browsing the website. If an item is available in the selected size and color, the Borrow button will appear.
Meanwhile, Amour Vert’s resale program, called ReAmour, is operated by Recurate and enables shoppers to sell their previously owned garments. Like CaaStle, Recurate integrates its own software directly into the front end without interrupting the branded experience, while at the same time handling the back end of the marketplace, including integration, shipping and customer service.
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The resale program is developed an extension of the brand’s ongoing mission to create high quality, sustainable pieces that stand the test of time. Amour Vert, which is French for “Green Love,” prioritizes zero-waste designs and works directly with woman-owned factories and mills to pioneer environmentally friendly fabrics.
With ReAmour, Amour Vert can further its ambition to make all products in limited quantities to ensure the highest production standards and to eliminate excess waste.
“Through the Amour Vert ReAmour marketplace our fans may experience greater access to the ‘back catalog’ of made-right, small-batch, limited edition and legacy coveted creations,” said Laurie Etheridge, Amour Vert CEO. “In a world of scarce resources, we believe that access outshines ownership. Now our customers have an easy, curated way to share and find beloved ‘future vintage’ favorites.”
For Ba&sh, the introduction of rentals could boost its U.S. presence. Though the brand’s wares are already sold in North America, Asia and Europe, the Borrow launch marks the first time U.S. consumers can rent pieces from Ba&sh’s ready-to-wear collections directly from its site. Previously, American shoppers could shop for Ba&sh collections through Rent the Runway, which has been a partner of the brand since fall 2017. And with Rent the Runway recently going public, now might be the right time for Ba&sh to further penetrate the rental market in one of the biggest global economies. In fact, according to an April 2021 report from Technavio, the global online clothing rental market is expected to grow by $990 million, at a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent from 2021-2025.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with CaaStle to launch Ba&sh Borrow in the U.S.,” said Pierre-Arnaud Grenade, Ba&sh global CEO. “As innovation, responsibility and service are at the heart of our brand strategy, this rental offering will allow us to address a wider, more socially aware clientele and enable them to consume differently with us. We are proud to introduce this responsible evolution alongside CaaStle, leveraging their expertise to engage with the community in new and powerful ways.”
Ba&sh says it will offer a curated selection of Fall/Winter 2021 pieces across ready-to-wear categories including dresses, knits, outwear, tops and bottoms. When the rental period is over, customers can return their items with free shipping and dry cleaning, continue to rent for a daily fee, or purchase the item at a discounted price. If daily rental fees add up to retail price, the customer will own the item with no further penalty.
“Borrow widens Ba&sh’s audience to new and aspirational customers by offering a unique and accessible way to interact with the brand,” said Christine Hunsicker, founder and CEO at CaaStle. “Ba&sh has seen its customers in France respond positively to this flexible access to its clothing, so we’re excited they chose to partner with CaaStle to offer the U.S. consumer the same flexibility and seamless experience.”
U.S. consumers looking to use Amour Vert’s ReAmour can submit their own product photos, descriptions and select a recommended price for their “pre-loved” items, which will then be authenticated and approved by Amour Vert to appear on the resale page. In order to ensure the authenticity of items sold on the site—and ensure they accurately represent the brand—Recurate relies on purchase history data. Sellers can look at every item they purchased from the brand, and view a “sell” button next to each of those items.
Amour Vert says that selling through this channel has benefits, in that photos can be compared with original product photography and give users a clearer view of the exact colorways for the garments.
When the item sells, users receive a prepaid shipping label to send it off, eliminating the environmental footprint and logistics of shipping to a third-party warehouse. Once the buyer verifies its condition, the seller will be reimbursed with cash or store credit. Sellers on ReAmour have two choices for receiving a payout: store credit or cash. However, a cash payment (sent through PayPal) comes with a 20 percent fee.
“From the very beginning, we knew that Amour Vert was a perfect fit for the work we are doing at Recurate,” said Adam Siegel, Recurate co-founder and CEO. “By developing their own products and committing to zero-waste designs, Amour Vert has proven their devotion to sustainability and reshaping the luxury fashion world. We are proud to support them in raising the ethical standards of product production, post-production, and so on.”