UK fashion rental technology platform, Zoa, has announced Rental Lab, which it describes as the next-generation in circular commerce for the apparel industry.

The program's aim is to outline the ideal circular commerce customer experience, which will serve as a roadmap for the development of its current white-label solution.

By uniting the UK's fashion businesses to create the future of sustainable commerce, Zoa Rental Lab claims to be the first UK initiative of its type. By putting the consumer at the center of the issue, it seeks to resolve the issues currently present and to offer a streamlined experience across both circular models - rental and resale.

According to Zoa, participants in a series of workshops led by Zoa and Rental Lab will determine the technologies required to support the quick acceleration of circular business models. The program is scheduled to begin in the upcoming weeks.

Zoa Rental's Shan Mandora, head of commercial, said the company is "extremely delighted" to launch Rental Lab and welcome significant companies as participants. It is obvious that they need to develop technological solutions that enable circular experiences that customers love and that are simple for brands to embrace. They can accomplish this most successfully by collaborating with some of the greatest brands in the world.

Fashion firms are increasingly utilizing rental and resale models in an effort to achieve sustainability.

Fashion firms are increasingly embracing rental and resale models in an effort to meet sustainability objectives that call for 20% of items to be sold via circular models by 2030.

According to Zoa, companies that offer rental or resale services must choose between a number of providers rather than a single, all-encompassing solution that is compatible with their current retail solution.

As Zoa points out, the brands or stores that will be adopting this technology are frequently excluded from the development process. The end result is a less-than-stellar customer experience, with customers frequently being diverted away from merchants' flagship sites, and a plethora of processes and offerings acting as a roadblock to the move towards circularity.

In 2021, Hirestreet in the UK spun off a white-label rental-as-a-service offering called Zoa. It presently powers French Connection Rental, Hirestreet, Rathbones Tailor, Cameron Ross, Taite Ro, CLOAN, and DCEY, providing technology, operational support, and strategic guidance to stores wishing to introduce a rental service.