Our Story

With All Borrow, we’re taking it way back to the good ol’ days where we were taught sharing is caring! We serve to promote a sharing culture where we provide access over ownership: a reliable place where we can all borrow occasional items without the burden of ownership, all while reducing our carbon footprint and cost. All Borrow’s story is a conglomerate of many moments throughout the past 2 years, that once accumulated, ended up in a big Aha! moment.

Here’s why it all started…

Tailored for a Carbon Neutral World

Over consumption is one of the major challenges facing sustainability in the world today. Our preferences are changing with a blink of an eye, and we move on to the next best trend quick! Especially in today’s culture with the rise in social media, once something is photographed it’s deemed a big social no-no to wear or use the item again… Okay, that might be a bit over exaggerated, but we are living in a world that is rapidly evolving and we’re constantly trying to play catch up. This endless evolution of preferences come at a high cost, both environmentally and monetarily. So… what’s the solution to looking fly but not breaking the bank and the environment?

That’s the million-dollar question.

What is family for?

For the longest time my solution was to borrow from my cousins for specific occasions and sometimes get their hand me downs. In our family, we were always taught to share, and our unspoken motto was “what’s mine is yours” or “what doesn’t fit me, you can have.” With 46 cousins total, that meant the world was our oyster. But we all grew up, many of us moved thousands of miles away and for the most part, our sizes and styles don’t match!

necessity is the mother of invention

Another solution for me was buying and selling on second-hand reseller platforms. I soon realized that it just still wasn’t worth the high fraction of the item cost I was paying for occasional items, along with the cost of cleaning and maintenance, and the fact that I was hoarding everything! My tiny apartment closet simply didn’t have space for it. Marie Kondo would surely not approve of it. How could I throw out my beautiful gold-sequined dress I wore to my cousin’s wedding in Puerto Rico 5 years ago?

Another route bites the dust

I caved and finally tried selling it on a reseller app. I gave up because the sequins had fallen and the cost of dry cleaning and fixing it were just not worth it. I also didn’t have the time to take quality photos, post it, and continue back-and-forth conversation with prospective buyers.

Everyone Deserves a Cinderella Experience

That’s when I wished for the iconic moment in every Disney movie or Rom Com where the lead gets a glow up without worrying about all the other details. A Cinderella and her Fairy God Mother moment where with a “bippity boppity boo” she was decked out or a Maid in Manhattan moment where Jennifer Lopez “borrows” a complete outfit for the night and wows everyone in the room.

Dream Big and go After it!

So, I came to the conclusion that I had to be the genie in my own story. The closest way I could make my own wish come true was by building a rental platform, an online “borrowhood” that I could trust and rely on as I would with my cousins. A platform built based on an environmentally conscious model, where it’s easy and affordable to be ready for the occasion and stay up with the latest trends without worrying about all the other details.

That’s when with a wave of a magic wand,
All Borrow was born!

♥