Fashion and sustainability is at a crossroads: ongoing cost pressures mean that most consumers place even less priority on sustainability than in previous years, but many have adopted more-conscientious shopping behaviours as they have become more savvy with their spending.
"Fashion businesses need to move beyond compliance towards systems-led sustainability and bring their customers on the sustainability journey by showing how durable fashion purchases designed for circularity can deliver better value over time."
Tamara Sender Ceron, Associate Director, Fashion Retail
Fashion and sustainability is at a crossroads: ongoing cost pressures mean that most consumers place even less priority on sustainability than in previous years, but many have adopted more-conscientious shopping behaviours as they have become more savvy with their spending. There is a need to shift the conversation towards showing how value through quality makes more financial sense, particularly as 63% of consumers agree that the value of a fashion item is determined by the number of times you wear it before it wears out.
As new sustainability legislation from ESPR to EPR for textiles comes into effect, retailers and brands focus on compliance, but costs will climb just as consumer wallets tighten, threatening margins for brands that treat sustainability as an add-on and not a systems-led change. The biggest threat is a widening Gen Z say-do gap that fuels ultra-fast fashion and rising return rates, eroding both profit and planet.
The biggest opportunity lies in the wellness boom, and backlash against PFAS and microplastic shedding gives fashion retailers permission to reframe sustainability around personal health.
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