The apparel industry in the US has had a tough start to 2020. Consumers are buying fewer and fewer items to stock their closets, and companies that typically sell tons of winter coats and sweaters faced cold January.

Receipts at clothing stores dropped 3.1 per cent last month, the most since March 2009. Women’s apparel was its weakest category during the holidays. Retailers are reworking some of their private label apparel brands in a bid to win back shoppers. Tops, dresses and pants are lying unsold in stores. Baby boomers are aging and buying less clothing than they used to. Millennials are not inclined to spend as much on their wardrobes. Instead, new options like Rent the Runway — where users can pay a monthly fee to rent items to wear to work, to the gym, on vacation and on the weekends — and Stitch Fix — where customers pay to have personalized boxes of clothes shipped to them — are gaining in popularity. The casualization of the workplace also means women and men aren’t buying expensive suits and skirts to wear around the office. Instead, many can get by with jeans and jogger pants. Second-hand apparel is also in style, as shoppers are increasingly thinking about how they can create less waste when they shop.