CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hellen Moffitt developed a complete business out of necessity.
The entrepreneur from Charlotte constantly purchased new dresses for parties and events, but believed there must be a more efficient solution.
"I had tried other clothing rental services, but they're all like subscription-based and involved shipping," Moffitt explained. "And a lot of times I needed something last minute."
Thus PonyBox came to life as a local clothing rental service in Charlotte, North Carolina. It offers the convenience of getting a dress for a one-time event such as a wedding or party.
In the beginning, Moffitt said she was running her store out of her home.
"We were doing local delivery in Charlotte," Moffitt explained. "So people would order from our website, and we would deliver it to them."
Finally, after about a year and a half of success, Moffitt moved into a physical space in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.
"So people could make appointments, come in, try on dresses, rent them," she said of her studio showroom.
Moffitt said her whole business model is about reducing clothing waste.
"So now you can come in, grab a dress, rent it for one or two weeks," she explained. "And then you bring it back to us and doesn't sit in your closet, it reduces a lot of waste."
Every year, people in the United States throw out more than 34 billion pounds of used textiles, according to a 2022 study from Boston University.
The study explained that the waste does not occur equally and explained that on average, 76% more clothing waste came from people with higher incomes than people with lower incomes.
The study went on to explain that most of this waste comes from clothing companies abroad that mass-produce items that are usually of poor quality.
Once the clothing items are ultimately discarded, the study says 66% of those items are sent to landfills where they are left to decompose.
Moffitt is hoping PonyBox will help combat this issue.
"Our mission from the beginning is to get more people shopping sustainably," Moffitt said.
Moffitt said she prices the items in her store to compete with fast fashion brands like Amazon or Shein.
"But you're renting instead of buying," she said, "But if you're only going to wear it once, like what does it really matter."
Along with RentThePony, Moffitt just recently opened another section of her store called ThriftPony. Think of this as a more traditional thrift store.
Here, Charlotte residents can buy, thrift, and trade clothing items.
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