Zero Baggage: Travel Light Using Rented Clothes

Pic: Flickr CC

Zero Baggage won’t launch officially until November this year but it’s an interesting – if a little squishy – idea nonetheless.

I say ‘squishy’ because it looks a little like 2 or 3 good ideas rolled into one. That said, the one big idea is consistent – helping you travel and live lighter through what they call the “temporary use of circulating items”. i.e. Renting.

The Virtual Suitcase lets you borrow new and pre-loved items from local retailers at your destination. You can pick them out yourself on arrival or choose from the online marketplace and they’ll be waiting for you at your destination. In other words, a kind of fractional ownership for clothes and other goodies.

Which sounds like a nice idea, but there’s more …

If you’re frequently travelling to the same location, you can store your stuff in a ZB Locker (another neat idea). There’s also a community element and a service called Citywide Wardrobe (which sounds like a version of the Virtual Suitcase for longstays or locals to use themselves for light living).

The site also hopes to reward users with various perks from local businesses in exchange for ‘carbon credits’ earned for travelling light. (Similar to Recyclebank perhaps?)

There’s certainly a lot of interesting ideas going on so here I’m keen to see how the site develops ahead of its launch. And as the idea of location independent living gains ground, it’s potentially a precursor of other businesses serving this niche too.

Site: ZeroBaggage.com Via: PSFK

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Tagged as: green business ideas, online business ideas, zerobaggage