Introducing Poplar Works residents - OR Collective Ltd

Tell us a bit about your new business!

OR Collective is a design led clothes rental subscription for ages 0-4years. Tackling the ultimate fast fashion industry – because little ones grow so fast, or collective offers access to a large wardrobe that members can rent and rotate at intervals that suit them for a set monthly fee.

Do you have a personal story as to what sparked an inspiration to create OR Collective Ltd?

I had never planned to move into kids wear space, with my former career as head of buying for menswear and womenswear at COS, this wasn’t on the radar until I had my daughter Bay. I felt naïve and totally shocked at how fast babies grow out of clothes, or the season changes and you need different items.. personally being an ambassador of having a capsule wardrobe and making fewer, more intentional purchases it was a shock to the system to be constantly needing to purchase new items. Combine this with the want to purchase quality, ethically made products that come at a high but justified cost the only alternative cost wise was to buy second hand, a very valid option but one that takes a lot of time to find the items you want in the right size at the right time before they grow again!

All of these battles led to a thought of pulling together all the great kids wear labels, supporting brands that are doing it right (for design and production) and sharing the cost of using these items between parents. Considering that on average growth a baby needs a new wardrobe every 3 months - not considering season changes, it seemed like a hassle-free, cost effective no-brainer.

How is OR Collective Ltd a sustainable business?

We are completely circular when it comes to clothing, extending a garments life for as long as is possible, which is only fair given how much work goes into making an item. We know there is a huge, estimated 183 million items of baby clothes that are stashed in lofts at homes in the UK meaning we keep producing more and aren’t successfully re-circulating through re-sale to reduce impact on use of virgin materials ….in short we haven’t broken our habits of a take-make-waste linear model of purchasing. Our aim is to make an experience that is as fun and easy as buying new but with none of the guilt. It’s all about renting, wearing and then rotating.

Our garments are rented and rotated until they no longer meet our high quality standards for rental, and we work only with high quality product that has been designed with longevity in mind to ensure they can be rented as long as possible preventing new pieces being made. Once they no longer meet this standard, they are either re-sold as messy/play wear, donated (a minimum of 10% good quality stock will be going to the little village to support families in poverty) Or as a last resort we are working on recycling options to turn old stock into new fabric securing the end life of the recycling process. Meaning nothing goes to landfill on our watch.

We also see in the future finding a way to accept clothes that parents have at home into our fold to be sorted for rental, resale, donation or recycling.

What is your recommendation for those using this service for the first time?

We recommend being practical – its super easy to get carried away with all the awesome fashion items we have on the site, but often find by the 2nd or 3rd rotation parents find a good balance between essentials and fashion to get the  most wear out of all your items. We have no limitations on how often you can rotate (or how many of your items you rotate) but encourage considered rotations, there are carbon emissions involved when you rotate even if it isn’t as heavy as buying new. The average is every 8 weeks – although the first few times are normally more often as you get sizing right. Most customers start off with our 10 piece wardrobe and move up to 15 pieces when they have ourgown all the items they own at home.

Why did OR Collective Ltd decide to startup in East London?

East London has been home for founder Bliss for a long time, with such a strong creative community and knowing so many parents struggling with the same issues it felt right. It allowed us to start small and local and expand (now nationwide) at our own pace. We partner with Zedify in London for 0 emission delivery and are currently exploring how we can take 0 emission delivery nationwide, for now we work with Royal mail on anything out of the Zedify catchment (Royal mail have the lowest reported emissions per delivery) Bliss still does a handful of deliveries herself to chat to members.

Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

We see or collective becoming the number one destination for circular baby and kids clothes expanding our brand offer and making renting clothes for your little one a normal option. Aside from this big mission we can also see potential to step into new areas, we have a lot of interest in other kidswear items as well as womenswear…. Watch this space!

• Find out more about LCF Founders Club
• Find out more about LCF Business and Innovation
• View our upcoming Open Days.