Babu, the UK’s first rental subscription service focusing exclusively on designer baby and kids’ fashion, is launching on 1 June. Designed for boys and girls aged 0-4 years, Babu offers monthly drops of 10-15 curated luxury pieces ranging from casualwear and partywear to outerwear. Customers can then enjoy the pieces for four weeks before replacing them with a brand-new edit.
To curate these monthly capsule collections, Babu is working with well-known stylists and mum influencers including Gayle Rinkoff, Louise Roe and Mary Charteris. As well as offering a ‘personal shopping for your child’ style experience, it promotes an ethos of feel-good, planet-friendly luxury.
Each collection comprises current and past season pieces from Babu’s exclusive roster of brand partners including Balmain; Caramel; Emilio Pucci; Gant; Il Gufo; Roberto Cavalli; Stella McCartney; Tartine et Chocolat; Tommy Hilfiger and more.
Founding partnerships on shared quality and sustainability values
Babu aims for garments to be rented an average of 12 times. All pieces are cleaned and disinfected in-house upon each return using a proprietary state-of-the-art eco-friendly cleaning system. The process includes wet cleaning and ozone technology. This delivers a better quality clean that is kinder to skin, clothes and the environment, all run on 100% green energy.
Babu has gone further than any other rental platform in its commitment to sustainability. Once garments reach the end of their useful lives, rather than relying on traditional outdated textile recycling infrastructure, Babu passes them on to its sustainable impact partner Xetrov. Xetrov then converts the pieces into renewable energy in a cutting-edge advanced thermal treatment process. This clean energy has a variety of uses. For example, power, heating, cooling, drying and food production.
Founders Alice Horlick, Bella Nesselrode and Georgia Lombard launched Babu after discovering first-hand how quickly their children and friends’ children grew out of their clothes
“On average, during their first four years of life, children go through 748 pieces of clothing, which is why we decided to focus on babies and smaller children,” explains events and communications doyenne, Georgia Lombard.
London College of Fashion alumna, Alice Horlick, adds; “One of Babu’s mottos is ‘slow fashion, fast,’ because we believe in helping our customers enjoy a wider range of high-quality garments that are made to last. For less than the cost of buying one of our higher-priced items, our customers get to enjoy 10-15 impeccably presented pieces and change up their child’s wardrobe every month – with all garments sourced from exceptional luxury brands that are constantly striving to produce and operate in an eco-friendlier way.”
Bella Nesselrode, formerly at Amazon, emphasises; “Rental offers a sustainable solution to fashion’s waste crisis and can reduce a family’s carbon footprint by up to 80%, which is why we are so excited to be harnessing the power of the sharing economy and circular fashion movement. Babu ensures timeless designs that would usually end up in landfill will enjoy a full lifecycle and be disposed of responsibly, providing a mindful alternative to the traditional off-price and outlet models. We are delighted to be launching with so many of fashion’s forward-thinking big players on board.”
Babu makes it easy for its customers to contribute to the sharing economy and help end UK child clothing poverty
It does this by including a donation bag with every delivery. Items in good condition from Babu’s brand partners will enter the Babu eco-system. Customers will then receive rewards points to redeem against their subscription or to convert into a gift card. Anything Babu does not keep, it will donate to its partner charity, Little Village. If staining or damage is irreparable, Babu will pass it on to Xetrov for recycling.
Subscriptions cost £60 per week, amounting to less than £0.75 per garment per day. Customers can pause or end subscriptions at any time thanks to Babu’s weekly billing cycles. Babu has also partnered with DHL, the pioneers of green logistics, to offer free delivery and returns using biodegradable and recyclable packaging.
To celebrate its launch, Babu is offering 50% off the first four weeks’ subscription for its first 100 customers. For further information and to visit Babu’s website, please click here.
