🌍 Renting instead of buying: the low-impact way forward 👗
Plus game-changing coffee, one-tray supper and a women-only playlist
Last week we’d had enough, in the best sense of the phrase. We were celebrating the sensation of being entirely satisfied with what we have; of being filled right up to the BRiMM – escaping that vapid hunger-spasm feeling of needing to consume more and more and more, like some ceaselessly snapping and snappy Pac-Man. Or Pac-Person.
This week, then, we’re looking at how to share out everyone’s ‘enough’ between us all – to ultimately avoid more unnecessary new stuff being made and tossed into the 'world bin' – by renting instead of buying.
Now, it might be easy to assume that going second-hand and into short-term ownership would obviously be the planet-positive route to go, but there are pitfalls. One piece of research that came out of Finland even stated that it would be better to buy a pair of jeans and throw them away than to rent some. See the British Vogue piece below for more on how one fashion rental site disputed that bleak theory.
It’s key, then, before diving into our rapidly rising rental industry, to check how all shared items are transported and, sometimes even more importantly, cleaned by different companies – or at least how transparent they’re being about it. (One of the best in class: clothing-lender Hurr, and its partnership with super-clean cleaners Oxwash).
So here we're bringing you a curated pick of the brilliant brands and people we know are doing loans the low-impact way, offering up everything from costumes, clothes and jewellery to kids’ bikes to pressure washers to apartments to severed heads (not all together, necessarily… ).
Why? Because BRiMM is a collective that’s all about sharing, too. Think we’ve missed a golden rental resource out there? Go on, fill us in. We’ll feed them all back soon and you’ll get to benefit from everyone else’s hot tips, too.
Tune in, team up and let's turn the tide.
Team BRiMM
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FROM THE COLLECTIVE
Charlotte’s slightly obsessed by her new Selenite crystal tower from She’s Lost Control
Cherie told us that London Nootropics coffee is an early morning game changer
Sam’s excited by talk of more train routes from St Pancras to Germany, Switzerland and elsewhere
We love to hear what the collective is finding. Share your links with Becky
Rent the Runway, a site you can loan designer clothes and accessories through, brought out a report in 2021 showing that its company model had ‘displaced the production of 1.3 million new garments’ in the last 11 years – which had led to all sorts of other energy savings, too. Four years on, we can only hope those figures now include almost half again. This British Vogue feature explores how brands like that are navigating those issues around transporting and cleaning pieces. Other clothing-lease stores with low-impact cred' include the gorgeous OR Collective for kids, Rites for women and By Rotation, which has a men’s section, too.
When you think about it, buying a child a bike is like buying them a really expensive pair of shoes – they’re only going to fit for so long; seats can only go so high. Bike Club is an ingenious way to make sure kids always have wheels that work for them: you pay a monthly direct debit and a new or refurbished bike of the right size is delivered when you need it, preventing any more being neglected at the back of sheds or added to the millions already in landfill.
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From ladders and hedge trimmers to sewing machines, gazebos, travel cots and thermal imaging cameras, the Library of Things is a phenomenal borrowing resource available in 19 London neighbourhoods (you can start a petition for one in your area too, or Fat Llama is similar and Europe-wide). The goal? To reduce the amount of new things people buy and reduce waste. It also facilitates local skillshare sessions covering DIY and fixing tips, and includes products direct from suppliers like Bosch. Alternatively, for something really unique – you can rent props and costumes from theatres, including The National (restraining chair, anyone?).
Switching to holiday mode can mean subconsciously leaving all our planet-positive good intentions at home. It needn’t be so. Starting with how to choose the right accommodation rentals, this New York Times article explains easy ways to layer in low-impact touches to your trips, like having a ‘day zero’ to get your bearings and food shopping day-to-day to avoid any leftovers.
This seasonal recipe for miso roast squash and potatoes with almonds and kale from plant-based superchef Anna Jones is slog-free, since you can cook it in a single pan.
MUSIC FOR CLIMATE OPTIMISTS
Charlotte's pulled together some QUEENS-only sounds for the weekend. Enjoy 👑
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