French App 'Poppins' Aims to Reduce Waste by Renting Household Items
Poppins, a new app in France, promotes sustainability by renting out underused household items.
Key Points
- • Poppins app launched by Lucie Basch to tackle underutilized household items.
- • Achieved 40,000 users shortly after launch in April 2025.
- • 65% of items listed for free, encouraging a sharing economy.
- • Plans to expand to Belgium in 2026 and the UK in 2027.
The launch of the app Poppins, co-founded by entrepreneur Lucie Basch, aims to address the issue of excessive consumerism by facilitating the rental and sharing of underused household items. Released in April 2025, the app allows individuals to connect and exchange items that are often left unused, which is particularly relevant given that the average French person owns around 2.5 tonnes of objects, about a third of which remain untouched. The initiative has quickly gained popularity with 40,000 users in its initial weeks, highlighting a societal shift towards sustainability. The raclette machine has emerged as the most popular item for borrowing.
Approximately 65% of the items listed on Poppins are available for free loans, promoting a community-oriented approach to ownership. Basch, known for her previous venture, the anti-food waste app Too Good To Go, emphasized the importance of transitioning from a linear consumption model to a circular economy model in her vision for sustainable living. The Poppins app not only facilitates the exchange of items between users but also lists rental shops and borrowing outlets, thus broadening the scope of sustainable practices.
Looking to the future, Poppins is set to expand internationally, targeting Belgium in 2026 and the UK in 2027, reflecting a growing trend in consumer behaviors favoring sustainability and waste reduction.