CiRCEE CLuB

Over het initiatief / About the initiative

CiRCEE CLuB

In welke fase zit jouw initiatief? / In what stage is your initiative?

Uitgewerkt conceptfase

Heb je jouw initiatief al gevalideerd? / Did you validate your initiative?

We have validated the concept through market research, in particular considering the market potential and the successes and failures of competitors. We have conducted a survey and interviews to gather feedback on the concept, which was very positive. We are launching our MVP in two weeks to further validate our idea.

Meer informatie over jouw initiatief / More info about your initiative

CiRCEE CLuB is an innovative concept trying to eliminate the need to purchase clothing. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions and more than 90 million tons of waste per year. Much of this is caused by overconsumption, stimulated by constantly changing trends, cheap and low-quality garments, and the desire for change in our wardrobes. Sustainable alternatives remain too expensive to fulfil consumers’ desire for variety

Providing an access-over-ownership model for the fashion industry can solve many of these issues. Renting clothing based on a subscription model allows people to enjoy variety, spend less money on sustainable items than buying them new, and have lower environmental footprint from their fashion consumption. By not buying clothing new, less needs to be produced, garments’ lifecycles get extended and waste is prevented because garments remain in circulation.

CiRCEE CLuB is an initiative trying to make this a reality. Targeting the biggest group of fashion consumers, Generation Z, we are creating a platform and brand making the rent of clothing the next big thing.

Wat is er anders/nieuw aan jouw idee/oplossing t.o.v. bestaande oplossingen? / What is different/new about your idea/solution compared to existing solutions??

Renting clothing is not an entirely new concept, especially considering occasion wear. Most of our competitors focus on occasion wear (such as party or wedding dresses and suits). Some others focus more on everyday wear, like us, but do so on a very local scale, operating from one physical store. Yet others who are also operating digitally focus on a very different target audience, still providing mostly formal wear.

What makes us different is that we do not want to provide renting of clothes as an addition to purchasing (for instance, renting occasion wear but still buying everything else). Our service is meant to provide a real alternative to buying, enabling our customers to rent everything they need or want. Furthermore, targeting the younger generation sets us apart from other solutions, as Generation Z is still rather neglected in the clothing rental world. Lastly, offering our service fully digital, and with offline events (swapshop events), we make the renting of clothing as easy and accessible as buying clothes online.

Wat zijn jouw volgende stappen om het verder te ontwikkelen? / What are your next steps to develop the initiative?

We are launching the first version of our platform in two weeks, starting with a very limited number of items. We are launching a marketing campaign in Maastricht to reach our first users and build a waitlist with people interested in subscribing to our service once we offer a more substantial amount of items.

With our MVP, we can gather real feedback from real customers and adapt our value proposition and service as needed. We are starting our pre-seed funding round to raise the capital needed to buy our first inventory, finish the platform, and conduct a larger marketing campaign in more cities.

Wat heb je nodig om (nog meer) impact te maken met dit initiatief? / What do you need to make (more) impact with this initiative?

More clothes mean more users. To be able to serve a substantial base of early customers, we need to raise around €150.000 to buy our first inventory, finish and adapt the platform, and run a marketing campaign to reach our early adopters. Marketing is also particularly important to let people hear about our initiative.