One of H&M’s specialty stores, Mitte Garden in Berlin, is launching a clothing rental service that uses blockchain. SPIN, developed by Lablaco, uses IoT and blockchain to track the rented clothing that costs from €5 to €9 per item per day.
In addition to tracking the product’s origins by scanning a barcode, the concept is people can share what they looked like while wearing the fashion item.
“Each garment has unique stories. We can’t wait to see how H&M Mitte Garten community will create stories by “SPINning” their fashion,” said Eliana Kuo, Founder and Co-CEO of lablaco.
A select group of items are available for rent until the end of the year.
“I am very excited to exclusively try out this blockchain based rental service in our Berlin Mitte Garten Store. We have a unique community and customer base – they love to explore new things, to experiment with their style and looks in a fashion-forward, sustainable and affordable way,” said Stiliana Stoyanova of Mitte Garten.
Lablaco started out with a focus on tracing the sustainable origins of fashion items and is backed by the founder of co-founder of Net-a-Porter, Arnaud Massenet. Many may not appreciate that the clothing sector is one of the most polluting.
Data firm Quantis estimates that apparel makes up 6.7% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, rising to 8% when footwear is included. That’s almost four times the estimated emissions from the airline sector.
Lablaco’s LPLUS solution tracks the origins and sustainability and also helps to ensure the item is not counterfeit. The company also organizes the Circular Fashion Summit.
Meanwhile, another H&M brand, COS, is a participant in a blockchain sustainability project from the UK Fashion and Textile Association. Several other blockchain projects have targeted textiles and cotton in particular.
