Last week, a new piece of market research fell into my lap. “Sustainable fashion’s new priorities: what shoppers really want now” its headline screeched at me. What do shoppers really want now? What do *I* really want now? Having advocated for sustainable fashion for over 10 years, I was keen to see these sustainable fashion predictions for 2025, and compare them to my own. Read on to find out how I think this year will look in terms of trends, second-hand shopping, circularity, and more!
8 Sustainable Fashion Predictions For 2025
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1. Shoppers Will Begin To Trust Fashion Brands Again
In this information age, fashion brands haven’t fared too well. As consumers, we’ve discovered how unethical fashion can be, and how unsustainable the vast majority of fashion has become. Despite this, I believe most shoppers want to trust fashion brands again.
“Authenticity and transparency are more important than ever, as shoppers are more selective and increasingly sceptical of greenwashing” says Kantar, in their 2025 market research. This assertion is the culmination of years of campaigning by organisations like Fashion Revolution and Remake and their millions of supporters. Turns out, the vast majority of consumers want to know who makes our clothes, and what our clothes are made out of.
Despite this, I think there is now a sense of fatigue setting in. I personally feel this. I’m tired of scrutinising every single green claim, tired of seeing ads that align unethical businesses with smiling families, wind turbines, and charitable projects. Wouldn’t life be easier if we could just trust these brands?
Like a bad relationship, I think our tight bank accounts and social-media-addled minds are driving us all to throw away our values in favour of convenience. While social justice values continue to be a driving factor for Gen Z, and the preservation of heritage and local production are favoured by older generations, I just don’t know how sustainable it is to hope for better when we can barely afford better.
2. Fashion Brands Will Communicate Sustainability Better
To bridge the trust gap that fashion brands have created, I think many of them are adapting how they communicate, to better connect with us. This is already being done by brands’ marketing departments – I mean, just look at Loewe on TikTok, or Maggie Smith for Loewe. Now it’s time the sustainability departments caught up.
“Shoppers under 25 prefer quick clear insights through labels and QR codes, allowing them to understand the story behind what they’re buying.” says Kantar. This is great to hear, and the demand for QR codes makes me hope that digital product passports will be readily accepted when they launch in 2026.
“Shoppers aged 45–54 are more inclined to trust detailed information from websites and in-depth reports.” It seems I’m a decade older than my real age, because I too prefer the in-depth reports. It’s easy to slap a sweeping statement like ‘sustainable’ or ‘natural’ on an item, but a little harder to feign an entire corporate report.
Above all though, fashion brands will being to communicate the origins of their products in adaptable ways, to suit all customers. I just hope it doesn’t constitute more greenwashing…
3. Fashion Will Continue To Greenwash Until It Isn’t Profitable
For 2025, I predict a rise in greenwashing. “26% of H&M shoppers report awareness of greenwashing and it influences how they shop.” says Kantar’s report, going on to highlight how much of a financial loss this could be for H&M. But only 26%? I have a feeling H&M has more to gain by greenwashing than it does by implementing real sustainability
This prediction is backed up by research from Changing Markets Foundation. Not only are “international fashion brands are doubling down on their use of synthetic fibres”, there’s also less transparency than in previous years. “The level of corporate secrecy has more than tripled since our surveys began in 2021,” says the report, which is wild when compared to the increase in of “sustainable” collections, “sustainable” material-use, and “circular” resale platforms.
For now and the near future, it still pays to greenwash. I hope to see this change when upcoming regulations like the UK’s Green Claims Code, EU’s Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation, and even France’s Anti-Fast Fashion Bill start coming in. Further, I hope to see financial penalties for the worst offenders. Only then will we see a real shift.
4. Second-Hand Will Have A Big Fashion Moment
Second-hand fashion has finally become cool. “Over 50% of shoppers now purchase second-hand clothing” reports Kantar, marking a watershed moment in fashion consumption. At the same time, it’s hurting first-hand sales: “The volume of firsthand fashion sales has continued to decline, down -2.7% year-on-year as of the 52 weeks leading up to September 15, 2024. Lots of retailers are looking to the rise in second-hand being a contributing factor to this and are feeling the impact.”
We’ve already seen a number of brands respond to second-hand cannibalising their first-hand sales. High street brand resale platforms have been popping up since 2022, giving these businesses an opportunity to manage this shift. And luxury fashion houses have been extremely litigious in hopes of preventing second-hand platforms from profiting from their products. But what now?
In 2025, I think we’re going to see some high-fashion moments with second-hand clothing. By this, I mean more than a few celebs rewearing red carpet dresses. While the business-side of fashion might be struggling to adapt to the demand for second-hand, I think designers are going to incorporate it more than ever. A girl can dream!
5. Style Will Remain The Key Purchasing Factor
In the sustainable fashion space, I have seen brands pursue lots of red herrings. While we all want our clothes to be made fairly and have a lighter impact on the planet, the backstory and biodegradability of our clothes as purchasing factors never trumps the style of the garment (unfortunately).
At last year’s Global Fashion Summit, Pangaia Executive Eva Kruse said “You might buy an ugly carrot, you won’t buy an ugly jacket”. That really stuck with me. Let’s be honest: style sells clothes, whether they’re sustainable or not.
This has been picked up in Kantar’s predictions too, notably in the second-hand clothes market: “57.1% of shoppers indicated that sustainability is not a key reason for their second-hand purchases, making it more of a happy byproduct.”
And Paul Dillinger, Head of Global Design and Innovation at Levi’s, also echoed this same at last year’s Institute of Positive Fashion Forum. He noted that nowadays, clothes are being designed for ‘attention’ or ‘value’. The question is, why can’t trends transcend ephemeral moments and become high value articles of clothing? I’d love to see more of that.
6. Digital Fashion Is Predicted To Be The Future Of Fashion…
Speaking of red herrings… when it comes to fashion predictions, I’m seeing a lot of buzz for digital fashion, AI, and even Fortnite skins. While digital clothing may avoid exploitative supply chains and unsustainable materials, I really don’t believe this will ever exceed a tiny percentage of global market share.
“22% of shoppers said they’d consider purchasing digital fashion, which involves wearing virtual clothing in online environments instead of physical garments.” says Kantar’s reports. Great, but I don’t want to wear an ugly VR headset IRL.
Digital fashion may be a fun place to explore and experiment – consider fashion that breaks the laws of physics, fashion that couldn’t exist in the real world – but it’s not where the future of fashion is headed.
7. …But The Future of Fashion Lies In The Past
So, back to reality. I think the near-future of fashion in the U.K. actually lies in low-cost clothing due to the current economic climate. Sadly, even that has become politically polarised, with fast fashion and second-hand fashion battling it out on our high streets.
On top of that, overconsumption will continue, as a reaction to the lower incomes our generation is experiencing, and the sheer financial impossibility of larger meaningful purchases like home ownership.
While I’m all for fashion innovations, it seems even the concept of circularity is still outside of the general public’s consciousness. In the Global Fashion Forum’s Upstream Circularity Playbook, they recommend industry makes a concerted effort to educate consumers on the importance and value of recycled materials and clothes recycling more generally. This feels like such a small step in the face of the fast fashion machine, and so I wonder, does the future of fashion actually lie in the past?
By that I mean, going back to a time when we repair our clothes. When we rent wedding guest outfits. It might seem odd, but I truly think 2025 will be the year we see big brands start embracing fashion as a service, where they finally realise they can make money from experiences around existing clothes, rather than constantly spinning the wheel to make more and more clothes that nobody wants.
8. Fashion Will (Hopefully) Return To Nature
And finally, I want to share more of a hope than a prediction. I hope to see more fashion brands returning to nature in 2025. Despite whispers of this permeating the fashion crowd – Anya Hindmarch’s Return to Nature Collection, Chloë’s B-Corp certification, Stella McCartney’s Spring 23 Rewilding Collection – I think it would still be such a radical act for fashion brands to embrace nature. And by that I mean more natural and regenerative materials, championing heritage crafts, supporting climate resilience plans in regions they operate in and sell to, and so on.
A Note On My Sustainable Fashion Predictions for 2025
I have to conclude this list of predictions with a regrettable sense of apathy. Having worked and written about sustainability and sustainable fashion for more than 10 years now, I’ve seen the industry grow and change, but at a snail’s pace.
You can count on the publicly-floated fashion brands to go for the low-hanging fruit when it comes to sustainability. Investing in recycled polyester or organic cotton, promising resale platforms that never materialise, and collaborating with hot new sustainable fashion designers for one-off collections at premium prices is the usual performance. You won’t see any of them promising living wages, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, or pledging degrowth.
For the smaller, sustainable fashion brands, you’ll see their creativity and true passion for ethical production, eco-friendly materials, and circularity from the outset. But this year beware: there will be more closures. Prices are higher, while our collective spending is lower.
For this piece, I referenced the following reports and insights:
- Summary of Who Cares? Who Does? Report by Kantar, January 2025
- Upstream Circularity Playbook by Global Fashion Forum, December 2024
- Fashion’s Plastic Paralysis Report by Changing Markets Foundation, September 2024
- What Fuels Fashion? Report by Fashion Revolution, August 2024
- Fashion Accountability Report by Remake, March 2024
- Insights from Global Fashion Summit 2024
- Insights from British Fashion Council Institue of Postive Fashion Forum 2024
What are your sustainable fashion predictions for 2025? Let me know below.
