Welcome to the Closet in the Cloud

We are excited to continue our series of ‘hassle saving’ blogs with this piece from Rachel Hung, co-founder of Bundle ‘n Joy, a rental marketplace for ethical maternity wear.

The fashion industry is ranked fourth in terms of its negative environmental impact, just below housing, transport, and food. The carbon footprint of clothing production in 2015 surpassed the CO2 equivalent of international flights and shipping combined – it uses about 93 billion cubic metres of water annually and produced an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortune estimates that women spend almost $500 per pregnancy on maternity clothes. In fact, people regularly wear only 20% of their wardrobe, costing an average 81 lbs clothing waste per person per year – that’s insane! For mamas-to-be, we’re acutely aware that maternity wear is a temporary thing. So we ask, what can we do to help?

Right, let’s face it. Women are pregnant for an average of 40 weeks. Perhaps for the first trimester, we can still fit into what we have in our wardrobe. When second trimester hits and then the third, all of us will need to get some form of bump friendly wear for the expanding waistline.

Being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to give up dressing stylishly as your favourite pieces won’t fit. Being pregnant also doesn’t mean you have to spend loads to fill your wardrobe with lines of new clothing. And most certainly, being pregnant doesn’t mean that you have to dress in attire that ‘make do’ throughout the beautiful and special 40 weeks where your baby grows inside of you.

At Bundle ‘n Joy, we aim to dress the next mums-to-be in an affordable, sustainable and chic way, showcasing the bump in pieces tailored especially for that purpose. We also want to revolutionise the way mamas-to-be dress – we offer a solution where you can access stylish well fitted clothes that can be returned when they are no longer useful. This means you help reduce the carbon footprint of maternity wear.

It’s time to go Green for the future of our planet and our children. Starting here and now is a small but significant step in the right direction. Lastly, fashion therapy for pregnancy blues? YES! There is nothing more powerful as a mood booster than wearing a flattering outfit that accentuates all your curves. So dress up, go out and shine mama!

By Rachel Hung

Co-founder Bundle ‘n Joy