Timo Rissanen, an associate professor in the UTS School of Design, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, said research suggests individual consumption should be closer to five new items a year – excluding underwear – to stay within the Paris Agreement commitment of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

He said the environmental benefits of sustainably made clothing were lost if the items were only worn a few times.

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“The real good happens when a garment is worn as many times as possible because it really makes the most of the investment in materials and also in manufacture,” Rissanen said.

Rissanen was interested from a design perspective in which garments were most popular and why, and also which ones have materials that last and still look good after a high number of wears.

The Volte is a peer-to-peer site for designer clothing, meaning it provides a platform to connect lenders and borrowers. Olivier said the company also pays royalties to the designers to make it financially profitable for the industry.

Designerex and High Street Runway have similar business models. There are also rental sites including Glamcorner, Style Theory, All the Dresses and RNTR that either hold stock directly or partner with professional offline rental businesses or directly with designers.

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Both the Sonya Moda and Suboo Shibori dresses are owned by Belinda Birt, who owns a physical dress rental store Your Secret Closet in Hampton, Melbourne, and operates nationally via The Volte.

“Our customers like the fact that it doesn’t clutter up their wardrobe, they can wear something different to every event without a huge financial impact, and that 35-45 age group is a market that really is thinking about the environmental impact and the future they’re leaving for their kids,” Birt said.

Trent Rigby, director of consultancy Retail Oasis, said younger consumers were interested in sustainable fashion, but often affordability was a bigger concern. The environmental impact was also becoming increasingly important for older consumers who often had more money to ensure their purchases lived up to their ideals.

“Sustainability is continuing to be one of the biggest trends in the fashion industry, but progress has been somewhat slow, particularly from many retailers,” Rigby said.

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