Discover the top 10 sustainable fashion trends to look out for in 2025, from eco-friendly materials to ethical brands shaping the future of fashion.
10 sustainable fashion trends to watch in 2025
Experts from fashion brands and advocacy groups anticipate that material innovations, tariffs, and policies will shape the industry in the coming year. In 2025, pursuing net zero emissions will preoccupy fashion brands less than struggling to profit in an ultra-competitive market, according to McKinsey & Co.
The sustainability professionals in the $1.7 trillion industry are in a difficult position. Research on consumers asserts that Generation Z "cares" about the sustainability of their shopping, but they attempt to demonstrate this when they shop. A T-shirt from Shein, Amazon Basics, or Forever 21 is typically more expensive than a carton of eggs. Inflation has not affected clothing.
It's hard to sell expensive clothes with green credentials. If brands have to pay just a few cents more per unit, convincing them to buy innovative, low-carbon new materials in bulk is also difficult. The task of reducing emissions is at the top of the fashion sustainability agenda.Scale materials with low emissions but high costs. Decarbonize supply chains comprising myriad small businesses, often thousands of miles away.
The systemic nature of these challenges appears in the trends that Logan Duran, vice president of ESG and sustainability at Coach parent Tapestry, is watching: “Holistic decarbonization strategies that integrate and increase the use of environmentally preferred materials, low-carbon manufacturing, circular business model solutions, and the increased utilization of renewable energy across the entire value chain.”
What other advocates for apparel sustainability told Trellis about what might happen in the coming year are as follows.
Loving to hate fast fashion
“Fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu continue to face criticism regarding overproduction, textile waste and potential labor exploitation,” said Lux Research Senior Analyst Tiffany Hua. “In 2025, I expect the controversy to grow, with calls for disclosures on production limits, implementation of extended producer responsibility, and transparency requirements.”
Nonetheless, Tricia Carey, the former chief commercial officer of the textile-to-textile startup Renewcell, anticipates little relief in the foreseeable future. She stated, "I do not see the tides changing in 2025 because the consumer generally does not understand the issues that exist in the apparel system."
Downstream effects surface
The effects of fashion’s glut, based on ultrafast production and ever-changing trends, show no signs of abating. Unsold, returned, or previously worn clothing is shipped extensively to developed nations by brands, wholesalers, and charitable organizations. This problem has become worse as companies overproduce cheap clothes that only last seven years on average before the consumers casts them off.
What can’t be sold in thrift stores in the U.S. and elsewhere is shipped to developing regions of the world, sometimes known as the Global South. Piles of these clothes pollute beaches in Africa, Chile’s Atacama Desert and other places. In some places, local people have created circular economy marketplaces out of the secondhand garments. Ghana's Accra-based Kantamanto Market is widely regarded as the largest. However, a fire on January 2 destroyed two-thirds of the market. Liz Ricketts, co-founder and director of the Or Foundation of Accra, which strives to "catalyze a justice-led circular economy," stated that "the response to this crisis will show us how ready the fashion industry is to acknowledge Kantamanto’s essential role within the global secondhand supply chain and within the fashion industry’s circular ambitions." "No community is doing such important work." should ever find themselves in such a state of emergency.”
Fashion brands, whose goods dominate the markets and dumpsites of this Global South, are receiving increasing calls to expand their responsibility as producers. Ricketts went on to say, "The fact is, there is too much clothing... We need to be giving priority to transparency on production volumes, volume reduction targets, replacing new clothing with repaired or remanufactured items, and setting a floor price for clothing."
In the meantime, brands like Patagonia and Dr. Through their resale, repair, and refurbishment programs, Martens continues to advance circularity. “In 2025, I expect these programs to become even more integrated into retail strategies where select brands will focus on selling durable apparel and goods,” Hua of Lux said. In addition, brands will struggle with resale strategies when there is a mismatch between product durability and consumer value, she added.
According to Nicole Rycroft, founder and executive director of the non-profit Canopy, "brands are increasingly aware of the legislative risks and sourcing volatility presented by conventional ‘take, make, waste’ supply chains, and we’ll see more of them using the full suite of levers at their disposal to transform their supply chains to be circular and resilient in 2025."
Innovators explore new materials
From bio-based and waste materials, numerous new fibers are being produced. According to Katrin Ley, managing director of Fashion for Good of Amsterdam, mainstreaming these early-stage materials "demands collaboration, strategic investment, and a defined pathway to adoption." “Innovators like Infinited Fiber, Ambercycle and Circ, among many others, are making significant strides, offering innovations that not only meet performance standards but also integrate into existing supply chains,” she said.
Hua of Lux anticipates increased commercialization of recycled synthetic and cellulosic fibers, particularly as Carbios, Reju, and Syre's recycling operations mature. However, Beth Jensen, senior director of climate and nature at the non-profit Textile Exchange, stated that progress must also be made in traditional materials.
Calls rise for more policy
What’s fashion’s biggest opportunity for change?
Kathleen Talbot, vice president of operations and chief sustainability officer at Reformation, stated, "Hands down, public policy." "If we are all using a different playbook, we cannot drive impact at scale in fashion." Rachel Van Metre Kibbe, founder and CEO of American Circular Textiles (ACT), a policy advocacy group in New York City, agreed. “Now is not the time to pull back—it’s the time to double down,” she said.
“If we don’t galvanize in a formal way, state policies could end up working against the industry, and federal policies could leave significant funding opportunities off the table for textiles. With a unified and strategic approach, we can shift the conversation and position domestic manufacturing and circular textiles as central to the future of sustainable manufacturing, domestic economic growth and resilient supply chains.”
If President-elect Donald Trump imposes tariffs on imports, then expect sourcing shifts, according to Robert Antoshak, a Nashville-based partner at the Gherzi Textil Organization. He stated, "So you might be dealing with different suppliers, different countries, and different standards for sustainability." The “America First” approach may also close the de minimis loophole, which has allowed fast fashion brands to ship from abroad in quantities under $800 to escape duties or taxes.
That could help level the playing field for domestic manufacturers, but only if paired with investments in domestic capacity to handle increased demand and build sustainable supply chains, according to Kibbe of ACT.
Domestic businesses are squeezed
“This path is not easy in an industry that often prioritizes the lowest price while overlooking people and planet,” said Eric Henry, president of TS Designs in Burlington. Carolina, North His Solid State Designs brand touts natural fabrics and dyes and a transparent supply chain. He noted that in 2024, many domestic apparel manufacturers went out of business or moved production overseas. “In response, we pivoted last year to focus on building mini domestic supply chains, diversifying our apparel production beyond just T-shirts … Looking ahead to 2025, we are continuing to develop new products, including expanded T-shirt styles as well as sweaters and sweatshirts. By prioritizing U.S. sourcing and manufacturing, we can develop products more efficiently, avoiding the global race to chase cheaper prices.”
“It’s critical that we explore ways to reinvest funds collected from [potential] tariffs into incentives for reshoring and onshoring,” said ACT’s Kibbe. "We risk being left "off the menu" once more without this, making us uncompetitive with regions that place a high value on textiles."
Regarding Trump's second term, Antoshak of Gherzi Textile stated, "I don't think this administration is going to lose any sleep over sustainability." He added that sustainability initiatives may be "kicked to the curb" and EPA standards and enforcement may be accelerated. “Geo-politics across every continent make global trade unpredictable for planning,” said Carey, formerly of Renewcell. “The UFLPA (Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act) and the CSRD (EU's new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), which are pushing the industry toward greater transparency and traceability, add to this. It all comes down to systems change of a fragmented global industry.”
They will also need to get ready for the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, which will come into effect in 2026 in California. End-of-life issues must be addressed by textile and apparel companies under the first extended producer responsibility (EPR) law in the United States. New clothing containing PFAS "forever chemicals" cannot be sold in New York as of January 1 under a new law. Businesses in California are having trouble complying with a similar rule that went into effect in 2024. Several experts predict that global regulatory momentum in the areas of chemicals, extended producer responsibility (EPR), and textile waste will continue.
Science-based goals have been committed to by more than half of major brands. Among them, 96 percent of emissions derive from Scope 3, mostly purchased goods and services.
Lewis Perkins, president of the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) in San Francisco, advised readers to "keep eyes peeled for investment by apparel brands in the Global South via initiatives to target Scope 3 emissions." “In 2024, we saw major players step up. For instance, Bestseller and H&M are financing jointly the construction of Bangladesh's first offshore wind farm, which will support regional suppliers in switching to greener energy sources and increase clean energy capacity.
He went on to say that "a significant proportion of textile suppliers are small and medium-sized businesses that struggle with their cash flow, are not considered creditworthy, and do not have access to loans." These businesses also do not have access to loans. "Brands must lead in this area by providing direct funding, co-investment models, and making it easier to get access to affordable financing options."
Calls for focused collaborations
Brands are criticized for joining collaborative efforts to promote human rights, biodiversity, and climate change despite their appealing appearances. This year can be when this changes, according to AII’s Perkins. He stated, "A persistent false narrative suggests that climate innovation assets in fashion must compete with funding for other sectors." “In reality, many systems and innovations overlap, such as those in sustainable agriculture, the renewable energy transition and next-generation manufacturing technologies.”
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