"LENA, the clothing library" invites customers to change their style as they wish by renting quality clothes.

"It's just really great", exclaimed Ikram Cakir enthusiastically before returning a blouse with colorful patterns in shades of blue and white and then leaving with a similar light pink item.

This 37-year-old campaign manager for an NGO visits the place about once every three weeks, delighted that she can regularly refresh her wardrobe thanks to this sustainable initiative.

"A lot of clothes are bought and not worn. I think it's a very nice way to be able to wear new clothes without depleting the planet", she added for AFP.

Located on a busy street in the center of the Dutch capital, the "library" offers a diverse collection of hundreds of regularly renewed pieces, also available for purchase.

On each garment, a tag indicates the price, often high, but also the daily rental cost, ranging from 50 cents to a few euros.

People buy 60% more clothes, wear them little, and throw them away

"The fashion industry is one of the most polluting in the world", explained Elisa Jansen, co-founder of this initiative, which she founded in 2014 with her two sisters and a friend.

In the "fast fashion" era, an average person buys 60% more clothes than 15 years ago, and each item is kept only half the time, according to the UN.

Every second, an amount equivalent to a load of clothes from a garbage truck is burned or dumped in a landfill, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Fashion is responsible for a third of the release of toxic microplastic particles into the oceans, consumes up to 215,000 billion liters of water per year in textile production, and is responsible for up to 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The clothing library", with its welcoming atmosphere, white brick walls, plants and colorful furniture, is one of the solutions.

"Shared wardrobe" - "Always new outfits. Good for the planet. Experiment with your style. Try before you buy", encourages a poster.

The "library" also offers its collection online and has drop-off and collection points in other large Dutch cities. Elisa Jansen "has always worked in the field of reusing clothes", especially in vintage stores, as she recounted.

However, vintage style has its limits, not allowing the purchase of new items. "That's how the idea of sharing clothes from a large communal wardrobe was born", she explained.

Each customer pays ten euros to become a member. Over 6,000 people hold a card, but the frequency of borrowing varies, said Jansen, who lives in Amsterdam.

The quality of the clothes is "the most important thing" in choosing the collection, she said, and sustainable brands are favored.

"You won't find fast fashion here", she emphasized, referring to a trend where clothes are bought at low prices and discarded shortly after.

"This is the future"

Nine years ago, "we were truly among the first", the co-founder of the "library" recounted. There have been other similar initiatives in Scandinavia, but many of them have disappeared, she said with disappointment. Moreover, these are mostly online.

"We have a physical store. So, it's something completely unique", Jansen added.

Finding a profitable model took time, she explained, but the initiative in this trendy neighborhood in Amsterdam is convincing, especially among "women aged 25-45, who want to make conscious choices, but also want to dress well".

India Donisi, a 35-year-old wine blogger, regularly rents clothes for events. "Above all, it's very practical", she said while trying on a fuchsia pink jacket that she described as "extravagant".

Jansen, in turn, hopes that LENA will inspire other brands. "I sincerely believe that this is the future (...). We cannot continue to consume and produce in this way". "I hope other clothing brands will do the same (...), so there will always be the option to borrow clothes", she said.