About CLOTHESfriends:

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CLOTHESfriends' mission is to make sustainable fashion accessible to everyone. Through its Fashion Rental App, clothing and accessories are integrated into a circular system for renting, leasing, and buying – allowing users to easily borrow outfits from sustainable partner brands or directly from community members. In parallel, CLOTHESfriends offers a fashion rental and resale service through targeted B2B partnerships with fashion brands, supporting them in developing their circular fashion offerings.

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1. The idea of rental fashion and a sharing economy has been considered key to greater sustainability in the fashion industry for several years. What makes the CLOTHESfriends concept unique?

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Carmen: CLOTHESfriends is an everyday solution for circular fashion that's as personal as it is versatile. Whether it's for brunch with your best friend, a party on a rooftop terrace, or a Sunday afternoon stroll, our goal is to offer a selection of products and brands that suits our users' mood and allows them to constantly reinvent themselves. When selecting our partner brands, we focus specifically on sustainably oriented brands and an offering that reflects current trends and trends. While other platforms primarily focus on occasion wear or high-end designer fashion, we see less demand for luxury or designer brands among our community – rather, they crave access to sustainable brands and a shopping alternative that allows for variety and the opportunity to try out trends in a sustainable and affordable way.

Sonja: This idea also aligns with our rent-to-own feature, which sets us apart from other rental platforms in a certain way. Based on feedback from our community, we've noticed that people often fall in love with certain pieces during the rental period and would like to keep them. With the rent-to-own feature, we offer the option to purchase individual products during the rental period, thus enabling conscious purchases as opposed to impulse buys. If, after a while, you realize you're not wearing the item as often anymore, you can easily re-upload it to the app with just a few clicks using the re-upload function.

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2. You met during your studies and decided to found your own start-up in October 2020. What lessons would you recommend to aspiring founders in the fashion industry?

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Carmen: If you're passionate about an idea, a goal, or a vision – go for it! From the very first second we talked about CLOTHESfriends, it felt like there was no other topic of conversation, and a few months later, we had suddenly founded the company. One of the most important lessons for me is the willingness to receive feedback and to communicate openly. In our initial phase, we often felt that the idea wasn't mature enough or that someone else was implementing it better. But the truth is, at least someone in the world has already had your idea – it's about how and whether you pursue it and which people you can inspire to work together on the vision. Ultimately, success depends on the strength, complementary skills, and cohesion of the team. Sonja and I complemented each other very well at the beginning, but without our current team, we would never have reached where we are today with CLOTHESfriends.

Sonja: The original idea will continue to evolve. The crucial thing is to hold fast to the vision and, even when faced with numerous challenges, never lose your passion. You can never be too prepared. Carmen and I both founded our first company, and for us, much was—and still is—new. That's precisely what makes the whole journey so exciting! Especially in a startup, you're constantly faced with unexpected tasks, and we learn something new every day. The biggest challenge remains being willing to learn from mistakes and being able to draw positive lessons from missed opportunities.

3. In addition to your app, you have so-called hubs in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, and Nuremberg where users can borrow, pick up, and return new items. In your opinion, what role do brick-and-mortar retail and collaborations like those with Staiy and Zamt in Berlin play in your business model?

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Sonja: To establish circular fashion in everyday life, combining a digitally and locally linked solution was clear to us. Through the various touchpoints, we create a community that goes beyond simply renting fashion. The combination of our hubs reflects the values on which we build CLOTHESfriends: enabling a conscious, sustainable lifestyle at all levels and working together towards a common goal. That's why we greatly appreciate how our communities complement each other through collaboration with the various hubs: from the sustainable knitwear brand Faible & Failure's own store in Hamburg to the vegan pizzeria Doctor Drooly in Munich.

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Carmen: This motivation is also reflected in the collaboration with ZAMT and Staiy in the concept store in Berlin, where our goal as partners was to connect all levels of circular fashion: By combining the complementary approaches of sustainable design, fair production, the Berlin brand ZAMT, the vetted selection of brands from the marketplace for sustainable fashion Staiy, and extending the wearing time through renting new or secondhand pieces from CLOTHESfriends, circular fashion is united in a local experience.

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4. Which fashion pieces or brands are particularly popular with your users, and do fashion trends influence the demand for specific pieces?

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Carmen: From a white secondhand babydoll dress to a recycled cashmere crop top from Jan 'n June. We're constantly amazed by how much we learn from our community and how we can adapt our offerings based on their feedback. Current trends and the selection of special pieces have just as crucial an influence as the positioning of our partner brands. Here, we primarily focus on a brand's philosophy and how they pursue sustainable, fair production and expand their strategy for greater circularity within the company. Because our users rent fashion not only for variety but also strive for conscious consumption, we're seeing a growing demand for them to get to know the brands through CLOTHESfriends and either try them on collectively via the app or rent directly from a brand's online shop.

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5. Renting fashion items instead of buying new ones is known to be the most sustainable form of consumption. What advice would you give to fashion brands that want to become part of the circular and sharing economy?

Carmen: The time is now: Climate change, the current global situation, and the resulting changes in circumstances couldn't be having a clearer impact on society and the economy. As a young company, we are constantly reminded that crisis situations can be used as opportunities. This potential lies particularly in the circular and sharing economy for fashion brands. The obvious perspective is reducing CO₂ emissions, minimizing waste, and contributing in the long term to a circular fashion industry, from production to recycling. The second opportunity lies in reaching and engaging Generation Z early on through circular offerings like rentals. It's clear that a circular transformation is complex for a brand – and a crucial challenge is price. According to a Zalando study , just over half of consumers say that sustainability plays a decisive role in their purchasing decisions – but when it comes to buying, 35% say they regularly prefer a cheaper option to a sustainable one. This attitude-behavior gap can be closed with circular fashion offerings such as renting.

Sonja: Our experience shows that when entering a rental or secondhand model, it's not just about choosing the right partner or service provider, but especially about communication. At CLOTHESfriends, we also place great emphasis on supporting brands with their communication. Fundamentally, the first step should be to communicate your stance as a fashion brand towards circular fashion and to be transparent about the efforts you are making or planning within the company. The next step involves defining the right circular fashion offerings and approaches for your business and how these can complement each other: from production to distribution and ensuring that the products are used in the cycle for as long as possible. Conversely, the best way to leverage the potential is by combining different approaches – and fashion rental offers an opportunity here. Although renting hasn't yet reached the mainstream, it's particularly worthwhile now to take on a pioneering role, benefit from the advantages, and advocate holistically for a circular fashion economy.

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We thank Carmen Jenny and Sonja Wunderlich for the interview.

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Image credits: Mirjam Hagen