Sustainable fashion is increasingly in vogue as shoppers confront the impact of climate change and prioritize brands with ethical business practices. For instance, a survey conducted by Adidas recently found that 70% of its consumers prefer to buy sustainable products, while younger generations are shaping up to have a strong appetite for sustainable brands.
Yet, shopping for sustainable fashion is still harder than it should be. E-commerce and fast fashion have made it simple to get the latest looks in a hurry, but those seeking sustainable options don’t enjoy easy access to shopping experiences that are inclusive and customized.
That’s where Renoon comes in. Essentially a sustainable fashion search engine, its app aggregates hundreds of brands and enables users to find products that match their values and styles simultaneously.
The Nuts & Bolts
Problem: The $2.5 trillion fashion industry has huge sustainability problems: it’s a massive polluter and contributor to carbon emissions, while 26 billion pounds of textiles end up in landfills each year. As climate change concerns accelerate, consumers are taking note.
According to a McKinsey survey, two-thirds of consumers believe that it’s more important than ever to limit the impact of climate change, and the same percentage consider a company’s use of sustainable materials to be a deciding purchasing factor. Meanwhile, a 2020 report by First Insight found that 73% of Gen Z consumers surveyed were willing to pay higher prices for sustainable products–more so than other generations.
These days there are plenty of popular fashion companies that put sustainability front and center, but the online sustainable fashion shopping experience overall is still fragmented. There’s no shortage of apps out there designed to help people boost their fashion game, but that’s still not the case when it comes to sustainable fashion. Consumers also generally lack access to the product information they need to make informed decisions around sustainability, which can open the door for brands to engage in greenwashing.
Solution: Renoon has built a platform that helps people discover and shop for sustainable fashion on their own terms. Its app aggregates products directly from multiple websites simultaneously, allowing shoppers to save time and easily find products that are second-hand, ethically sourced, or women owned, among a dozen other filters. The app guides users on a shopping experience that’s personalized and transparent, and once someone has found what they’re looking for, Renoon redirects them to the best website to finalize their purchase.
Along the way, Renoon injects transparency into the sustainable shopping experience by offering access to educational resources and information on materials used, production processes, and working conditions from brands such as Reformation, Stella McCartney, Veja, Patagonia and more. This helps Renoon become more than just a transactional e-commerce platform, giving it the opportunity to build a loyal community of sustainable fashion enthusiasts.
At the same time, the company seeks to understand sustainable fashion shoppers through data. It’s one of the first platforms that collects data on user preferences around shopping sustainability, with its proprietary tech automating all data extraction and tagging processes.
Getting to know Renoon
Based in the Netherlands, Renoon has four co-founders whose experiences span across sustainability, fashion, business and technology.
CEO Iris Skrami previously co-founded VIVIPOSITIVO, an online destination for modern wellbeing, and before that she worked at Nike and the clothing company PVH. Iris, who was recognized in Forbes Italy’s Under 30 list in 2021, is very passionate about sustainability and has already worked hard to recruit fashion and tech insiders to back the company as angel investors and serve as mentors.
CTO Nicolo Tresoldi has nearly a decade of experience in web development, including experience at both startups and tech corporations. COO Gabriele Trapani brings startup and corporate experience in finance and operations, which includes co-founding VIVIPOSITIVO with Iris and a stint at PVH. Head of Business Development Piero Puttini brings in multinational fashion expertise, having worked in marketing and PR at eyewear giant Luxottica.
Why now?
Facing blowback over industry pollution and climate impact, the global fashion industry is facing a moment of reckoning and many industry players are making moves to embrace sustainability, from Nike to H&M.
Adidas aims to make 90% of its products more sustainable by 2025, while large retailers such as Nordstrom have gotten into the booming secondhand market, citing demand for more sustainable options. Simultaneously, consumer sentiment suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic could serve as a reset opportunity for fashion players to strengthen their sustainability commitments and scale circular business models.
As these trends unfold, there’s a clear opportunity to connect online shoppers to sustainable fashion options and build personalized e-commerce experiences that cater to this market. We believe that Renoon is ahead of the curve here and its platform is already receiving accolades. It has been ranked among the world’s Top 10 Fashion Tech startups by Startupbootcamp and its team has been recognized by WWD and FashionUnited and others.
By helping consumers make sustainable fashion purchases, Renoon meets a number of U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, including responsible consumption and production, climate action, and quality jobs.
The future of Renoon
Renoon has the opportunity to become a category defining company. It curates products from over 300 brands and has thousands of members using its platform. Currently, Renoon is focused on building a loyal user base and preparing for global expansion in key European markets and the U.S. We look forward to supporting Renoon as it works to become the go-to destination for sustainable fashion.
You can learn more about Renoon at: https://renoon.com/
