Why renting baby clothes is becoming popular and every UK company compared
A child will go through seven sizes of clothes in their first two years. This could be as many as 200 items of clothing. With around 700,000 babies being born in the UK every year, that’s a lot of clothes needing to find a new home or ending up in landfill.
All of which explains the rise in popularity of renting baby clothes. And it really is starting to take off. Like the baby sleeping bag, it originated in the Nordic region with a Danish company called Vigga in 2014. It was another four years before it arrived in the UK but it’s had a big recent growth. Nearly half of the 10 UK baby clothes rental companies launched this year.
But how does it work, why is it better for the environment, what are the downsides, and how do the baby clothes rental services compare?
Why is renting baby clothes better for the environment?
Let’s look at the huge benefits to the environment first. You might wonder how harmful buying baby clothes is in the grand scheme of things. Can renting really make much of a difference?
Well, it’s worth noting that according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the textile industry produces more CO2 equivalent (CO2e) than international flights and maritime shipping combined. One kilogram of cotton, which is required for a pair of jeans, can take over 10,000 litres of water to produce. It would take you over 13 years to drink this much water.
Synthetic fibres, like petroleum-made polyester use less water and land than cotton but the manufacturing process emits more greenhouse gasses and they will shed plastic microfibres when washed.
Rental company Borro has found that:
Renting one thing saves 1.1kg of CO2e which is a saving of 49% compared to buying it. If someone rents just 15 things over a year, they will save 71kg of CO2e. This is roughly equivalent to 118 loads of laundry, 142 baths, driving 206 miles or 490 disposable nappies.
Renting instead of owning can extend a garment’s life 4-6 times and often even longer. It helps that they are professionally cleaned and repaired and also that people tend to take better care of rented items than cheap second-hand clothes.
Generally, only clothes in very good condition are sent out so once they have come to the end of their rental life, every company deals with them in the same way. They are either donated to a specific charity or Women’s Shelter where they will be worn again or the fabric is recycled. Nothing goes to landfill.
What are the other benefits of renting baby clothes?
Once your baby has outgrown their clothes, if you don’t want to throw them away, you have to find a new home. The clothes will take up space in the meantime. And charity shops aren’t the perfect solution that they seem. According to a 2019 report by the Environmental Audit Committee, 70% of clothing donated to charity shops is actually shipped to Africa and Eastern Europe where they are sold to clothing traders. This creates jobs but at the cost of any local textile industry. Plus some of the items won’t sell and will end up in landfill, which is exactly what you were trying to avoid with that trip with a heavy bin liner to the charity shop.
If you prefer to dress your child in organic clothes, renting is often much cheaper than buying new. Rental company Graceful Changes estimate you will save 65-75% of the cost of buying new. Plus in many cases, it will be small UK clothing businesses that you will be supporting.
Trawling through websites or charity shops for second-hand clothes can also take a lot of time, which new parents don’t have a lot, so it’s much quicker and easier to rent.
If you’re feeling funny about germs and dirt from another child being on the clothes - don’t! They are so thoroughly cleaned and sanitised between rentals they often arrive with you cleaner than brand new clothes which have been in warehouses and in shops.
What are the downsides?
For some, it will be a lack of choice, although some companies have bigger stocks than others. But if you love baby clothes shopping, and especially doing it instore, it might be hard to give up browsing rails of tiny babygrows.
Some won’t like the fact it’s not brand new clothes. But the clothing sent is always in a good condition and could sometimes even be brand new if it’s just started its rental life. You definitely won’t be given babygrows and bodysuits showing signs of a previous nappy explosion.
You might feel anxious when your child is eating blackberries while wearing a white rental top, for example. And even though stain insurance is included, some may feel bad about sending back stained or torn items.
If you’re planning on having more than one child you’ll miss seeing your newest child wearing much-loved pieces from your older one.
Labelling clothes for preschool or nursery could be trickier as you obviously can’t use a permanent marker to write your child’s name on the label. Solutions offered by the companies are:
Sewing name tags onto clothing labels and then unpicking them before returning.
Lullaloop suggest using EasyFix clip-on labels
Using name tag stickers like these.
How does renting baby clothes work?
The clothes
Most companies stock a range of baby clothing brands but some, like Lullaloop, just have their own-brand clothing and others, like Bundlee, allow you to choose between their own brand packages and multi-brand packages.
The renting
There are three different models for renting:
ONE: The most common model. Pay a monthly fee and get a certain number of items delivered. Swap the box for the next size when they are outgrown. Sometimes you can swap out individual items as you go along. The items are either pre-curated or you can pick your own.
Roundabout Rental, Babu, Bundlee, Lullaloop, OR collective, Belles and Babes, Graceful Changes, Goodkynd and 9plus1 all follow this model.
TWO: Rent individual items and pay a monthly rental fee for each.
This could suit you if you have hand-me-downs or gifts and don’t need a full or capsule wardrobe. You might just be really short on cardigans or trousers, for example. Borro and Qookeee use this model.
THREE: Pay a monthly fee and get a certain amount of credits to spend on renting clothes that month. These can be swapped at any time. Superlooper follows this model.
What happens if you damage or lose an item of clothing?
All the baby clothes rental companies have wear and tear insurance. This covers rips and stains or any other kind of accidental damage. It’s usually included in the monthly subscription.
Regarding lost items, there is some flexibility. All encourage you to contact them to discuss and I get the impression that a one-off may be overlooked. Otherwise, a reduced value of the item may be charged and never the full retail price.
Can you ever keep an item you particularly love?
Most companies prefer that an item continues with its rental life to minimise its carbon footprint. But if you really fall in love with an item Roundabout Rental, Graceful Changes, OR Collective, Qookeee, Belles and Babes and 9plus1 allow this.
Can you order newborn clothes when you are pregnant?
Yes, most companies give you the option to place an order and then pause it until two weeks before your due date. Some will not even charge you for this fortnight.
Where’s the best place to rent baby clothes?
This will come down to personal preference and will depend on which model suits you, what you can afford and which clothes are more to your taste.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you intend to pick your own clothes, the older and more established companies may have a larger stock to choose from.
There are two things they all have in common. Firstly, all the clothes are lovely. Secondly, all were founded by women wanting to solve the problem of baby clothes waste and play their part in the reduction of our carbon footprint. In fact, virtually every single one was founded by a mum who has seen first-hand how many clothes a baby goes through.
The 10 UK baby clothing rental companies compared
There are currently 10 companies in the UK which will rent baby clothes. Here is each with all the facts you need to know to help you choose.
1. Bundlee
What they are known for:
The UK’s first baby clothing rental subscription service. (Belles and Babes was founded in 2017 but originally just rented maternity wear and moved on to baby clothes slightly after Bundlee.)
Their stock includes their own range of clothing as well as a range of other brands.
When was the company founded?
At the start of 2018.
How it works:
There are two plans for which you pay a monthly subscription:
1. The capsule plan where you get a 15-piece capsule wardrobe selected for you from the Bundlee originals range. You can pre-order up to six months in advance.
2. The personalised plan, where you can pick 15 premium pieces from sustainable brands and can pre-order up to a month in advance.
The bundles are swapped out once outgrown. Families tend to keep a package for around 3 months.
Sizes:
From 0-3 months to 24 months.
Prices:
Capsule plan - £24 a month. They estimate you’ll save £1600 over two years.
Personalised plan - £39 a month. They estimate you’ll save £2400 over two years.
This includes damage insurance, deliveries and returns.
You can pause or cancel at any time.
Delivery and returns:
Both are through the Royal Mail tracked service. For returns, just put your clothes back in the reusable packaging they came in.
The clothes:
The premium clothes include sustainable brands using organic materials like MORI, Mini Rodini, Stella McCartney, Patagonia, Soft Gallery and Vivobarefoot.
Bundlee own brand clothes are made from Oeko-TEX cotton and described as ‘modern classics making style simple’ with ‘complementary colours, minimalist prints and pops of fun.’
Stock:
For the personalised plan, on a randomly chosen day of September 2022, there were 92 items of 0-3 months unisex clothes in stock.
Clothes cleaning:
They are cleaned and sanitised at their state-of-the-art eco laundry facility. They are sanitised by an ozone sanitisation method.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
What they are known for:
A simple, easy-to-use service with beautiful organic clothes from ethical brands.
When was the company founded?
May 2022
How it works:
Pay a monthly fee then select boy, girl or unisex and the age and a box of 21 seasonally appropriate items of clothing will be sent to you. Special requests about colours, patterns or irregular sizing can be made. Re-order a new bundle whenever needed. Clothes can also be swapped out whenever you want.
For newborn clothes, you can sign up ahead of your due date and then pause your subscription until closer to the birth.
Sizes:
Newborn to 3-4 years old.
Price:
£42 a month. Includes free delivery and returns and rip and stain insurance cover.
You can skip, reschedule or cancel at any time.
If you subscribe to the newsletter you get 50% off your first month.
Delivery and returns:
Boxes are sent via Royal Mail and a free returns label is provided for when you are ready to swap your box out.
The clothes:
All the clothes are made from organic cotton and are from ethical brands. Brands include Little Green Radicals, Kite, Maxomorra, DUNS Sweden and The Simple Folk.
Clothes cleaning:
They use Bio-D, an environmentally friendly detergent. Stains are treated with Violet’s Earth-Friendly Mineral Bleach.
Are gift certificates available?
Not at the moment.
3. Babu
What they are known for:
Luxury baby clothes from big-name brands. For babies, it’s less about the basics and more about the nice outfits.
When was the company founded?
June 2022
How it works:
Pay a monthly fee and choose between a full box (10-15 pieces) or a half box (6 pieces). The clothes can be pre-curated or you can pick your own. There is also a personalised curation service.
Sizes:
0-3 months to 4 years old.
Price:
A full box is £60 a week
A half box is £34 a week
Includes free delivery and returns.
There is optional damage insurance, which can be bought for £2.50 a week.
It’s also possible to earn reward points if you donate your own outgrown children’s clothes and they are rented out by Babu. If they are not suitable they will be donated to the Little Village charity or sent to Xetrov to be converted into renewable energy.
Delivery and returns:
Free DHL delivery and returns. Returns can be via DHL home collection or a drop-off point. Reusable packaging is used.
When the current box is on its way back, the next one is sent out. They offer DHL express next-day delivery so if the customer has their existing box collected on a Tuesday, their new box will arrive on the Wednesday.
Boxes have to be returned every month for cleaning even if you want to keep them.
The clothes:
Luxury brands like Balamain, Stella McCartney Kids and Tommy Hilfiger.
Stock:
If you’re choosing your own clothes, for a 0-3 month-old girl there were 30 items available to choose from on a randomly chosen day in September 2022.
Clothes cleaning:
Babu says, “Our in-house eco-laundry facility uses innovative technology to remove stains, kill germs and fully disinfect our garments to European standards.
Our in-house wet cleaning programme, using state-of-the-art machines, achieves the same results as dry cleaning using only biodegradable detergents and low water temperatures with extremely efficient cycles of only 20-30 minutes, all run on 100% green energy.”
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
4. Lullaloop
What they are known for:
Having a newborn package which you order to arrive before your due date. All the clothes are from Lullaloop’s own brand.
When was the company founded?
March 2022
How it works:
A monthly fee is paid for a choice of three different packages, all of which can be pre-styled or customisable.
Newborn package which has 17 pieces. 8 sleepsuits, 7 bodysuits and two jumpers. They recommend ordering it to arrive 7-10 days before your due date and you can pre-order up to a month in advance.
Savvy styler package which has 17 pieces. A pre-styled box has 7 tops, 6 bottoms and 4 jumpers. 5 sleepsuits can be added for an extra £10 a month.
Super styler package which has 22 pieces. A pre-styled box has 9 tops, 8 bottoms and 5 jumpers. 5 sleepsuits can be added for an extra £10 a month.
You can switch out individual items if they’re grown out of before the others. And when changing the size of a whole wardrobe, you have a seven-day transition so you’re not left without clothes.
If you’ve chosen a customisable package you’re able to select your wardrobe after you’ve placed your first order.
Sizes:
Newborn to 18-24 months old
Price:
Newborn and Savvy Styler packages are £39 a month for pre-styled and £44 for customisable.
The large Super Styler package is £45 for pre-styled and £49 for customisable.
A pack of five sleepsuits are available for an extra £10 a month for the Savvy and Super Styler options.
Delivery is £2.50 a month. Returns and insurance for stains or damage are included in the monthly fee.
Pause or cancel at any time.
Delivery and returns:
Delivery and returns are through DHL. Deliveries take 1-3 working days. Returns are via your nearest DHL drop-off point. They use reusable delivery bags and no plastic packaging.
The clothes:
All are Lullaloop own brand clothes. They are either cotton or 100% organic cotton and are cut to make them inclusive of cloth nappies. Stylish clothes in muted tones.
Stock:
For the customised plan, the selections are made after you have placed your order but they appear to have a wide range of clothes.
Clothes cleaning:
They use Oxwash for laundry. Oxwash is an eco-friendly laundry facility which:
- cleans and recycles the water used between washes.
- uses a system to catch and prevent 95% of plastic microfibres from going into the ocean.
- collects and delivers laundry on electric cargo bikes.
- uses a low washing temperature.
- sanitises clothing with ozone technology to guarantee the removal of 99.99999% of bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Anything else?
Lullaloop supports the Malaria Consortium charity. For each customer, seasonal malaria chemoprevention is given to a child.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
What they are known for:
A design-led company with a strong focus on sustainability. Their service started in East London but has now expanded across the UK. They are part of the official Ellen MacArthur community, which is for companies committed to a circular economy.
When was the company founded?
July 2022
How it works:
For a monthly fee, you choose a box with 10, 15 or 20 pieces. You are able to choose what clothes go inside the box. The website has filters for clothing item, age, size, brand, colour, season and concept. The box can be swapped whenever you are ready.
Sizes:
From newborn to 2-3 years old.
Price:
The 10 piece box is £36 a month, the 15 is £52, and the 20 is £68.
Wear and tear insurance is included and the subscription can be paused at any time.
At the moment there are free delivery and returns in East London.
Delivery and returns:
Where possible they use a zero emission cycle courier. If this is not possible, parcels are sent by Royal Mail.
The clothes:
The clothes are described as ‘timeless, minimalistic and comfortable’ and include the brands Mamelo, The Simple Folk, Lala, Monbebe and Mar Mar Copenhagen. They have several new brands launching this year.
Stock:
There is not a huge amount of choice in the newborn and 0-3 months sizes but more for the larger ones.
Clothes cleaning:
They work with a sustainable cleaner and a tailored laundry product that is gentle for babies.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes.
What they are known for:
Being one of the longest-running baby clothes rental companies. It’s also possible to rent nursing and maternity clothes.
When was the company founded?
Summer 2017, but they have evolved over the years.
How it works:
Hire a curated bundle of 18 essential everyday items of clothing for a monthly fee. The clothes are chosen for you but special requests can be made.
Each bundle is worth £300-£400 and is a mixture of babygrows, bodysuits, cardigans/jumpers, and outfits such as tops, trousers, dresses, dungarees and rompers. Choose from boy, girl or unisex. They are tailored to the season.
New bundles of the next size up are sent out when your baby is 3 months of age, 6 months of age, and 9 months of age. You can ask for it to be sooner or delayed. There is a one-week transition period for you to send the old clothes back.
If you’re hiring newborn clothes they will deliver your first bundle two weeks before your subscription starts free of charge.
Sizes:
From newborn until two years old.
Price:
£35 a month. It’s slighter cheaper if you take out a 6 or 12-month plan.
Delivery and returns are included as well as wear and tear insurance.
Pause or cancel at any time. Three weeks’ notice is required.
Delivery and returns:
DPD Next Day delivery with tracking.
The clothes:
All organic and from brands such as Baby Mori, Pigeon Organics and Little Green Radicals.
Most are suitable for use with reusable nappies and if any item is not roomy enough, it will be swapped free of charge and a note made not to send it to parents using cloth nappies again.
Clothes cleaning:
They are laundered in a regular washing machine with Ecover detergent. Solar panels help generate the electricity required.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
7. 9plus1
What they are known for:
Lovingly curating a selection of premium brands and a strong desire to solve the problem of the amount of children’s clothes going into landfill.
When was the company founded?
March 2021
How it works:
Pay a monthly subscription for a 10 or 15 item box and pick the clothes you’d like it to include. You can swap for a new box every month.
Sizes:
Newborn to 12-18 months.
Price:
£39.99 a month for 10 items and £44.99 for 15 items.
Pause or cancel at any time.
Wear and tear insurance is included. As well as all delivery and returns.
Delivery and returns:
Via Royal Mail or DPD.
The clothes:
Sustainable organic cotton clothing items from premium brands like Lilly and Sid, Little Green Radicals and Toby Tiger.
They aim to have something for every taste and style. They are very fond of Scandinavian brands with strong colours and prints and also have more contemporary brands and best of British brands.
Most of their clothes are suitable for cloth nappies.
Stock:
They have a large stock of baby clothes although you can’t see what is actually available until after you place an order.
Clothes cleaning:
All clothes are laundered in their bespoke in-house laundry facility, which fully cleans and disinfects the clothes. They use an eco-friendly process including technology to control the use of water.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
8. borro
What they are known for:
This is a baby clothes rental company where you rent individual items for a monthly fee instead of a certain-sized bundle.
The company was started with a real desire to make a difference. They take their commitment to sustainability seriously and are honest about areas where they hope to improve this. There is full transparency and you may also find it interesting that the founder, Sarah Green, documents her business journey on their website.
When was the company founded?
December 2021
How it works:
Select individual items and pay a fee for each month you keep them. There is no minimum number of items that can be rented.
Sizes:
From 0-3 to 9-12 months. They hope to extend this soon.
Price:
Anything from £1 a month for a headband to £7 a month for a snowsuit. There is no minimum spend.
Delivery and returns:
Delivery is £2.99 and is currently sent via Evri. This will change in the future as they are not a carbon-neutral company.
Returns are at an Evri drop-off spot. You will get one free pre-paid return label per package sent to you. If you send back or swap out items individually this is at your own cost.
The packaging is compostable corn starch.
The clothes:
Only sustainable brands are stocked and the materials used are organic cotton or sustainable fabrics like bamboo. Examples of the brands are Mori, Kite, Little Green Radicals and Pigeon Organics.
On the website, you can filter by playful prints or beautiful basics and then also by size, product type, brand and price.
Stock:
On a randomly chosen day in September 2022, they had over a hundred 0-3 months clothes to choose from.
Clothes cleaning:
Their laundry is powered by renewable energy and wet cleaning is used with eco-friendly non-bio detergents and stain removers.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
Anything else?
For each rental, a donation is made to Choose Love.
9. Qookeee
What they are known for:
Being a company where you rent individual clothing items, not bundles. You can also rent sleeping bags and reusable nappies.
When was the company founded?
July 2020
How it works:
Choose individual items and pay a monthly fee for the period that you keep them. There is a minimum monthly fee. They also have capsules of baby basics that you can rent.
Sizes:
Newborn to 18-24 months
Price:
You just for what you’ve chosen each month but there is a minimum monthly fee of £20. The clothing prices vary but to give you an idea, sleepsuits are around £2 a month and coats are around £5 a month.
Each order has free delivery and one free return per package.
No charges are made for accidental damage to the clothing
Delivery and returns:
Via Royal Mail. Returns are dropped off at your local post office.
The clothes:
The brands include Toby Tiger, Kite, Mori and The Bonnie Mob. They are mostly made from GOTS-certified organic cotton.
Stock:
On a random day in September 2022, there were 161 items available for 0-3-month-olds.
Clothes cleaning:
They use the sustainable laundry company Oxwash. See Lullaloop above for more details on this.
Are gift certificates available?
Not at the moment.
10. Superlooper
What they are known for:
This is not just a baby clothes rental service. They also consider themselves to be a sustainability movement. They have schemes to encourage both brands and parents to donate their outgrown baby clothes, giving both the chance to do something active and positive to reduce waste. It is a non-profit and one of the cheapest baby clothes rental services.
When was the company founded?
It was founded in October 2020 and for the first six months was just available in Brighton where the model was tested and refined.
How it works:
Once your membership fee is paid, you are given £20 a rental credit to spend a month.
Most items are £1 or £2 a month with items like pramsuits priced slightly higher.
The newborn clothes come in curated bundles but after that, you pick your own.
Alternatively, their newly launched ‘Selections’ is a quicker and easier way to rent. Just fill out a questionnaire on your clothing preferences and they will deliver you a box of clothes, tailored to your needs, every one or two months.
They also have a Lucky Loops box, which each month subscribers can dip into and get free white baby basics like babygrows and bodysuits as well as swimwear, bedding, bibs, muslins, shoes, socks, tights, mitts and hats.
Sizes:
The majority of their clothes are newborn to 18-24 months but they do also have clothes for 2 to 6-year-olds.
Price:
Pay monthly for £23 a month. Or buy a 6-month membership for £120 or an annual one for £240.
The Selections boxes are £20-£25 a month for the Playtime box of every day and playtime-grade clothes and £30 - £35 a month for the Smarty Pants box of every day and premium clothes.
Pause or cancel at any time.
There is no wear and tear insurance. But there is no charge if you lose, stain or damage an item under £1 in rental value. If higher-value items are regularly returned irreparably damaged or stained there may be a small charge.
Delivery and returns are included in the price.
Delivery and returns:
Items are delivered via Royal Mail. Once you’ve ordered your new ones you’ve got a week from their arrival to send back the old ones. Returns are free and at your local post office.
All deliveries within Brighton and Hove are biked to you or can be dropped off and picked up from the WRAP Play Cafe at the Low Waste Parenting Group.
The clothes:
The clothes come from customer donations or brand partners who donate their samples and overstocked items. They also have a scheme where brands like Little Green Radicals and Lucy&Sam ask their customers to send outgrown brand items to us in return for discounts on their next purchase. There is a huge variety of brands and you will find everything from supermarket clothes to Christian Dior.
They are described as ‘mainly pre-loved’ but all in good condition. Any that are a little more worn than the product photo will have a reduced rental value.
Stock:
There is a large stock of around 2,500 items and a good amount of choice.
Clothes cleaning:
The clothes are laundered with various eco detergents. For example, Nimble, Smol, Ecover, Tru Earth and Bio D. Tumble driers are never used and they only wash at low temperatures.
Stubborn marks or stains are treated with baking powder, lemon juice, sunlight (when possible) or an eco stain remover from one of the above brands.
Are gift certificates available?
Yes
Please note I have not included the following companies:
The Little Loop. It’s well known for its successful appearance on Dragon’s Den. They previously only stocked clothing sized 12 months upwards but now have clothes for nine months old onwards so will be added to this list soon.
Circos. They rent baby clothes from the popular brand Arket and deliver to the UK but are a Dutch company.
My Wardrobe Kids. They have designer brands, but it’s slightly different as you can buy as well as rent. Plus there is practically nothing for babies and what they have is hard to find as you can’t filter by age.
If there are any others that have been missed, please do let me know in the comments below. I will continually update the information so that this is the definitive guide to baby clothing rental companies in the UK.
about the author
Annabel Port is the founder of Get Get Got and in a former life a Sony award-winning radio presenter. After the birth of her son, she brought her forensic research skills to the world of baby products to help new parents not repeat her mistakes.