While dressing your children can be one of the most fun and creative elements of parenting, it can also be one of the most wasteful. Babies outgrow seven clothing sizes in just two years, with 300,000 pieces of clothing heading to landfill every week in the UK. In a bid to combat this never-ending churn of clothes, clever rental services are starting to pop up, offering an affordable, sustainable way to dress your kids – while getting to sample lots of brilliant designer brands in the process. Here we’ve rounded up the best kids’ clothing rental services to sign your little ones up for now.
Kids’ clothing rental services
Bundlee
This easy-to-use kids’ clothing rental service offers two different monthly plans – the Capsule, where you’ll receive a selection of curated essentials hand-picked by the Bundlee team, and the Personalised option, where you get to choose your favourite 15 pieces from a selection of designer brands for ages up to three years old. While the Capsule subscription is a great option for new parents, we particularly love the second option, where you get access to pieces from the likes of Mini Rodini, Little Riley Studio, the Bonnie Mob and the newly-added Stella McCartney Kids. All the seasons are covered – you can pick from sun-hats and swimsuits as well as woolly jumpers, puffa coats and shoes from Vivobarefoot – and you can simply swap them out for the next size up as soon as your little one grows out of them.
The Little Loop
With an emphasis on sustainable and ethical clothing brands, this kids’ clothing rental service offers a hand-picked selection of 10,000 items to choose from, ranging from brightly-coloured Kite and Frugi tops and dresses to organic clothes from cult Swedish label Polarn O. Pyret and smaller independent labels like Spotty Otter. Each piece of clothing is available in three levels of wear – ‘brand spanking new’, ‘gently worn’ and ‘well-loved’ – with the price reflected accordingly (the well-loved options make great choices for nursery days, though you needn’t worry about rips and stains as all the clothes are fully insured against the usual kid-related issues). With three different subscriptions available for ages up to seven years old, ranging from a few top-up pieces to a full wardrobe, each package comes with unlimited swaps, so you can mix and match your looks as often as you like.
My Wardrobe Kids
Having already made a name for themselves in the fashion rental revolution with their extensive range of designer dresses for hire, My Wardrobe has now moved into the kidswear realm with the latest extension of their platform. This is the place to come to hire one-off pieces for special occasions – a Marie-Chantal dress teamed with a Gucci coat for a birthday party, say, or a Perfect Moment snowsuit for their first ski trip. With sizes available up to the age of 12, all of their super-stylish kids’ clothes can be rented for a fraction of the retail price, and if you do happen to fall in love with any of the items, they’re all available for purchase too.
Graceful Changes
This family-run business only works with independent, organic and ethical brands, so you know you’re getting the very best for your little ones when you sign up for a subscription with them. Their flexible packages cater for children from newborn to six years old and there’s a fantastic range of choice on offer, from Muddy Puddles waterproof all-in-ones to dungarees and shift dresses from Pigeon and colourful staples from Toby Tiger – the Edinburgh-based service even champions several smaller local businesses, like Biau-Biau, who make handmade organic kids’ clothes. There are five different packages to choose from (ranging from five to 25 pieces) and subscribers get a really personal service here, with the founder Josefa available to help you choose the best selections for your needs.
Circos
Amsterdam-based Circos was founded in 2019 after the founder Erick Bouwer grew frustrated with not being able to find a more sustainable alternative to buying childrens’ clothing. This kids’ clothing rental company started out by partnering with eco-friendly Danish company Vigga, who were soon joined by a selection of pieces by Adidas and Patagonia before Swedish brand Arket signed up last year, rounding out the selection of smart kidswear (there’s also a range of maternity clothing on offer). Available to rent across Europe as well as the UK and with sizes available up to the age of four, items are delivered straight to your door for a monthly piece-by-piece rental fee.
Lullaloop
This kids’ clothing rental brand is a little different to the others, in that instead of providing clothes from other labels they create all of their designs in-house. Each of the pieces is designed as part of a stylish interchangeable wardrobe, so customers can mix and match almost all of the items to make more outfits. The colour palette is made up of muted pastel shades, with star-print rompers, cheerful slogan jumpers and sweet striped dungarees some of the standout items. There are two subscription options available: Customisable, where you pick your own pieces, and Pre-styled, where one of the team will pull together the dream capsule wardrobe for you. Available in sizes up to the age of two, the brand also supports Malaria Consortium, which focuses on saving children’s lives in Africa and Asia.
Babu
The newest kid on the block, Babu launched in June 2022 to become the UK’s first rental subscription service to focus exclusively on designer baby and kids fashion. Choose one of their carefully curated boxes – which cater for ages 0-4 – and you’ll receive pieces by some of the world’s top designers and kidswear brands, including Balmain, Emilio Pucci, Caramel and Tartine et Chocolat. Adding to their stylish credentials is the fact that their capsule collections are chosen by some of the capital’s most fashionable tastemakers (who also happen to be mothers), including Louise Roe, Mary Charteris and Rosanna Falconer. Once garments are no longer in rentable condition, Babu passes them on to their sustainable impact partner Xetrov, who convert them into renewable energy through a cutting-edge advanced thermal treatment process. Sign up and your kid is guaranteed to be the chicest (and greenest) tot at their next birthday party.
