H&M launches blockchain-based IoT rental service in Germany

The H&M Group’s Berlin Mitte Garten store and circular fashion blockchain developer lablaco have partnered to launch a new blockchain-based Internet of Things (IoT) rental business that allows customers to rent and swap garments within a set collection.

The new H&M rental business is built on lablaco’s circular fashion platform, Spin, and is characterized as the “first” blockchain-based IoT rental service.

H&M Mitte Garten and lablaco hope to use the collaboration to investigate the possibility of rental services in the new linked and digitized circular fashion industry.

The technology allows the item of clothing to be booked, paid for, and ready to wear with just one click. The item is checked, cleaned, and readied for the next consumer to rent when it is returned to the store.

Customers in the H&M Mitte Garten shop can now use their cellphones to scan IoT care labels on selected products, not just to track numerous unique product journeys on blockchain at the item level, but also to add memories and stories to the garments by uploading their looks.

Stiliana Stoyanova, PR and event manager at Mitte Garten, said that they have a unique community and consumer base – they love to try new things, to experiment with their style and looks in a way that is fashion-forward, sustainable, and inexpensive.

The rental service will be accessible from now through the end of the year, and it will include a variety of collections. The inaugural collection will include 12 various fashion pieces, with rental periods ranging from five to three weeks and daily prices ranging from EUR5 to EUR9 (US$5.82 to $10.49). The Spin account is completely free.