This report is designed to give an overview of the UK sustainable fashion market, covering concerns including, but not limited to: animal welfare, the impact of fashion on the environment, sustainability across the supply chain.
Sustainable Fashion Industry Statistics and Analysis
- There has been a notable shift among the youngest Gen Zs, with a quarter buying fewer fashion items overall compared with 2024. This ties in with a similar increase in this generation buying second-hand fashion. The preloved fashion market has become increasingly crowded as online resale platforms, retailers and charity shops all vie for a slice of the pie.
- There is a big say-do gap when comparing attitudes towards sustainability with actual changes to behaviour. While young people in particular tend to be environmentally conscious, they are less active in changing their fashion shopping behaviour.
- New legislation mandating digital product passports will force the fashion industry to become more transparent by gathering data and improving supply chain traceability. This increased visibility will help empower consumers to make more informed purchasing decisions. The brands that are ahead of the game in their sustainability journey will benefit over the longer term.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- The impact of new sustainability regulation and directives on the sector
- Importance of sustainability when buying fashion items and the retail/brand attributes that align with sustainable garments
- The divide between how consumers view sustainability and their actions, including levels of purchasing and returns, purchase of second hand clothing and donating items to charity
- What consumers are willing to pay more for, such as durability and timeless designs
- Attitudes towards sustainability and the role of fit and technology
About the Report
| Report Attributes | Details |
|---|---|
| Published Date | July 2025 |
| Report Author | Tamara Sender Ceron, Associate Director, Fashion Retail |
| Consumer Data | 2,000 internet users aged 16+, May 2025 |
| Number of Pages | 70 |
| Consumer Questionnaire Coverage | Importance of sustainability when purchasing fashion items, Purchasing and return habits, Fashion shopping behaviours, Purchase drivers, Attitudes towards sustainbility |
Consumers increasingly want more durable fashion items and new regulations will drive brands to create higher-quality, longer-lasting products, transforming the market.
Tamara Sender Ceron, Associate Director, Fashion Retail
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Opportunities for the Sustainable Fashion market
- Moving forwards on the sustainability journey
- Transparency – how DPPs can be a catalyst for innovation
- Consumers want clothes to last longer
- Technology advances will help sustainability efforts
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market predictions
- Preparing for Digital Product Passports
- What consumers want and why
- Three in five Britons see sustainability as important for fashion
- Graph 1: consumers who consider sustainability important when buying fashion items, 2020-25
- Big gap between sustainable intentions and actions
- Durability is key for a sustainable brand
- Graph 2: most important features for a fashion brand to be sustainable, 2025
- Young fashion shoppers return lots of items
- Shifting consumer behaviours
- Graph 3: sustainable fashion shopping behaviours, 2025
- Designing clothes to last
- Improving fit is key to reducing returns
- Graph 4: attitudes towards sustainable fashion, by gender, 2025
- Retailer activity
- Reimagining the supply chain
- Oxfam gives tips on vintage items
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market Drivers
- Clothing inflation hit by discounting
- Graph 5: overall CPIH and garment inflation rate, 2024-25
- Women feel pressures of price rises
- Graph 6: issues impacting consumers over the last two months, by gender, 2025
- Impact of tariffs on fashion
- De Minimis review could be a silver lining
- Regulatory and legislative changes
- Companies need to ensure compliance with new legislation
- Preparing for Digital Product Passports
- Brands need to adapt now
- Industry wants UK-specific textile EPR system
- Supply chain transparency to be phased in
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Importance of sustainable fashion
- Three in five Britons see sustainability as important for fashion
- Graph 7: importance of sustainability when buying fashion items, 2020-25
- Young place most importance on sustainability
- Graph 8: importance of sustainability when purchasing fashion, by generations, 2025
- Big gap between sustainable intentions and actions
- Rise of Shein shows desire for low cost fashion
- Graph 9: selected fashion retailers by year-on-year change in customer numbers within cohort, 2025
- High earners see sustainability as most important
- Graph 10: importance of sustainability when buying fashion, by annual household income, 2025
- Most important attributes for a sustainable fashion brand
- Durability is key for a sustainable brand
- Graph 11: most important features for a fashion brand to be sustainable, 2025
- Promoting sustainability in an era of ‘green hushing’
- Rising interest in locally made fashion
- Brands need to be honest about country of origin
- Opportunities for fashion made in the UK
- Young keen on items designed to be reused/recycled
- Opportunities for circular design
- Changing the recycling landscape in the UK
- John Lewis launches fully circular knitwear collection
- Brands expand recycled content
- Nobody’s Child succeeds in being ethical and profitable
- Level of purchasing and returns
- Women are more likely than men to be high intensity fashion buyers
- Gen Zs are highest intensity buyers, but young women are buying less
- Graph 12: number of fashion items purchased in the last three months, by generation, 2025
- Appealing to high intensity shoppers with high quality and trust
- Graph 13: factors that would encourage high intensity fashion buyers to pay more for a fashion item, 2025
- Young fashion shoppers return lots of items
- Using rewards to disincentivise returns
- Sustainable fashion behaviours
- People become more frugal when fashion shopping
- Graph 14: sustainable fashion shopping behaviours in the last 12 months, 2025
- Younger adults buy fewer, better quality garments
- Graph 15: sustainable shopping behaviours, 2025
- Second-hand fashion also appeals to younger shoppers
- Vinted has a very active customer base
- Graph 16: online marketplace and peer-to-peer operators, comparison of customer metrics in the last 12 months, 2025*
- Vinted customers also buy from value focused retailers
- Vintage trend normalises preloved fashion
- Retailers need to see resale as an opportunity instead of a threat
- Standing out in a crowded resale market
- Unwanted fashion sold rather than donated
- Graph 17: sustainable fashion shopping behaviours, by generation, 2025
- Asda facilitates fashion donations
- Repairs grow among young women
- Rise in repair services
- Rental still niche, but can be added as an option
- Shopping centres bring together circular services
- Sustainable attributes that would encourage higher spend on fashion
- Consumers are willing to pay more for well-made items
- Graph 18: attributes that would make people willing to pay more for a fashion item, 2025
- Durability is hard to measure
- Primark launches Durability Framework
- Trust in a brand is crucial for Gen Zs
- Opportunities for honest storytelling
- High resale value drives purchasing among Gen Zs and Younger Millennials
- Designing clothes to last longer
- Rethinking fashion design
- Low willingness to pay more for aftercare sevices
- Attitudes towards sustainable fashion
- Improving fit is key to making fashion more sustainable
- Graph 19: attitudes towards sustainable fashion, 2025
- Sizing and fit tools can reduce returns
- A coordinated approach to solving sizing inconsistencies
- Tariffs make fashion sourcing more important
- Empowering consumers through transparency
- Graph 20: attitudes towards more information on environmental impact and eco-friendly certifications, 2025
- B Corp looks to restore trust in certifications
- How DPPs can add value for customers
- Personalisation can help create a stronger bond with clothes
- Graph 21: attitudes towards personalising fashion items, 2025
- Making upcycling fashionable
- Helping people rewear items and buy less
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS
- Launch activity and innovation
- Next gen materials
- New fabric innovations
- Reimagining the supply chain
- LaundRe opens UK denim finishing hub
- Designing circular garments
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Patagonia tells customers how to wash items
- Oxfam gives tips on vintage items
- Vinted launches New Again campaign
- Crocs launches recycled shoe
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APPENDIX
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Consumer research methodology
- Snoop SpendMapper methodology
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