Courtesy of Borbala Ferencz

The negative impact to the environment and contribution to climate crisis of the fast fashion business model have been repeatedly discussed by both mainstream media and academic platforms. While the buzz term “sustainable fashion” has garnered greater public awareness in recent years, the truth is our average consumption is higher than ever, thanks to the age of e-commerce and “one-click” shopping. As long as consumerism exists, there will always be waste. Perhaps better questions to ask now are: how do we mitigate our consumption level, what affects our decision to constantly purchase and throw away so many clothes; are we fatigued from hearing about sustainable fashion and expecting things will never change; will these issues be considered in the 2025 fashion retail space; and what can be done as consumers for those that do care about social and environmental impact?

Courtesy of Megan O'Cain

Worsening waste problems in the fashion industry 

The biggest challenge in the fashion industry right now is excessive production leading to a waste disposal crisis. This industry produces 100 billion garments annually. For perspective, that is each person on the planet buying 12 garments every single year. At the end, we throw away about 92 billion tons of textiles, with some incinerated but the majority mostly ending up in landfills. Currently, the fashion industry contributes 8 – 10% of global CO2 emission and this is projected to increase 50% by 2030 if the current rate of production continues.  The biggest culprits are fast fashion brands. Their business models continue to thrive from over producing new styles of clothes, using cheap labor and cost-effective materials like polyester, that are poorer in quality but allow them to sell their products at low prices. Combined with effective marketing campaigns, the quantity and frequency of buying clothes has accelerated dramatically. Take fast fashion giant, SHEIN, for example, the company’s revenue reportedly jumped from $3.1 billion in 2019 to $22.7 billion in 2022.  Despite this, there has been a rise in consumer interest in fashion sustainability in recent years.

A sustainable mindset should not be a burden on consumers but should be considered at every point in the fashion supply chain.

Every stakeholder in the fashion industry is responsible for building a sustainable system. As consumers, we can choose to buy less clothes (or not buy at all) or buy from only brands that have the sustainability system in place. But how do consumers know that these brands are legitimately sustainable and are not using greenwashing techniques? Consumers should be educated but it would be naïve to think they should conduct research on the environmental impact of everything they buy. In fact, most people just don’t have the time or resources and generally would rather be stress-free and buy whatever makes them happy. To address this, there is a bigger onus on the fashion industry. At the end of the day, sustainability should be accounted for in every step in the supply chain, meaning from the design stage, material sourcing stage, manufacturing stage, packaging stage, delivery stage to consumer stage. Corporations in the fashion business could include a circular economy paradigm as one of their main objectives, brands may consider remodeling their businesses that favor sustainable practice (i.e., use recycled material, decrease volume and pay workers fair wages). Governments also have a significant part to play and should generate policies to collect taxable CO2 emission data from brands and require their full transparency on waste disposal protocol, something that can be challenging in less developed countries where fast fashion companies are often based. These are just some examples that may help mitigate the current environmental crisis and illustrate fashion sustainability is a collective effort across all stakeholders at every step of the supply chain.

Courtesy of Duolin Fang

A post-pandemic consumer era

Many of our buying habits have shifted because of COVID-19, and frankly these habits have set in. The biggest culprit permeating this change is perhaps e-commerce. Whether the consumer ultimately buys the product online or in-person, the company website is likely the first thing they navigate. Therefore, it is important that the browsing experience generates desire, trust, and ultimately brand loyalty. Further, the products should be easily accessible, with as few clicks as possible to reserve/hold or complete the transaction. Some marketing strategies and techniques might even bundle pricing, offering a gift with purchase or deeper discounts if you sign up as a new member and agree to share your personal data.

Social media has also become a key tool for fashion e-commerce. Aside from rapid sharing of information, companies use these platforms to directly engage with consumers and produce swift responses. For example, advertising with phrases such as “sale ending soon” or “limited stock” can trigger fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) and action in consumers. The user reviews generated by social media influencers, whom consumers idolize, can also drive e-commerce.  

Lying underneath online engagement social media are cookies that track consumer behaviors (clicks, likes, comments) that can be used to train AI algorithms that further refine targeted ads.  We now have the option to turn these off but how many of us take the time to curate the cookies on each website? Just think about the number of specific shopping ads designed for us that pop up as we thumb scroll social media feeds. With AI getting better at “knowing” what strikes our interest, we end up devoting a significant amount of time going through shopping sites that have triggered us. In some cases, this leads to a constant preoccupation with shopping. The goal of these companies’ e-commerce strategies of course is to entice us to buy and keep on buying more whether we need it or not, thus generating a vicious cycle of waste and environmental pollution.  

The constant urge to buy more things (more clothes) is a problematic behavior

Shopping can be a double-edged sword, therapeutic for some but problematic for others. For the latter, uncontrollable shopping patterns have well-being described by psychiatrists as far back as the early 1900s using terms such as “oniomania” to describe repetitive desire to buy. In modern times, terms like “impulsive buying”, “compulsive spending”, and “shopping addiction” are used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Psychiatric Association (UPA). More recently, Ünübol et al. 2022 coined the term “Problematic Shopping Behavior” or PSB to describe uncontrollable urge to shop as a form of behavioral addiction. Psychology experts suggest shopping is a form of coping mechanism in response to heightened emotions like stress and sadness. In a research study conducted by Rick et al. 2014, they have shown how shopping is able to alleviate these feelings of sadness by restoring a sense of control. 

Our modern society and pop-culture have also convinced us to constantly chase after the newest launch or the latest hype capitalizing on our need for self-expression so we can be part of the “cool crowd”. As a result, we are constantly trying to refresh our wardrobes season after season so we can appear trendy and unique.  

Companies have long studied what incentivizes consumers to not abandon their shopping carts and complete the sales. One such incentive is to make consumers feel they have the upper hand control of their money and purchasing power. Take “Black Friday “sales as an example, which occurs the Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. This hyper charged American shopping tradition has now spread like the plague. In 2024, Black Friday was observed in 129 countries globally with many not even understanding its origin.  

Despite complaints about the “bad economy” and inflation, people are relentlessly spending. According to data released by Mastercard, 2024 Black Friday racked up a staggering $11 billion in online sales in the US alone, a 15% increase compared to last year. Retail in-person sales also rose by 3.4%. With on-line retailers offering enticing deals that extend to Monday (Cyber Monday) and sometimes the entire week (Cyber Week), consumers have been trained to believe they have the purchasing power to show up and spend. Case in point, Cyber Monday yielded $13.2 billion in sales, a 6.1% increase compared to last year, and $60 billion in revenue overall for the entire week. Nearly half of all sales were in the fashion and accessories category. It’s safe to say that the majority of these purchases could be deemed unnecessary and our participation in these big sale events is more-or-less governed by FOMO. It is estimated that 80% of Black Friday’s fast fashion purchases are discarded either unused or after a few uses.

Courtesy of Aimée Grünewald

Feeling fatigue from hearing about sustainable fashion

Getting tired of hearing about sustainable fashion is a real phenomenon where consumers feel they can no longer be an active participant in the matter. Even for those who have been champions and advocates for sustainability can eventually feel burnout by the realization that their efforts have made little to no difference in preserving the environment underscoring why the fashion industry and governing bodies need to step up and make real changes to a system that’s so obviously broken. The feelings of defeat, despondency, helplessness and exhaustion are all valid, but we must remain optimistic and that our actions, no matter how seemingly inconsequential can make a meaningful impact on others. So, it’s okay to take a little break to avoid getting burnt out.

Take a deep breath, slow down and practice conscious consumerism

Conscious consumerism refers to the practice of buying (and using) products that have meaning, are mindful and sustainable. Some of the key elements in this practice are considering whether we really need to buy new items, or can we extend the lifespan of the current ones (i.e., repair or use longer). When making a new purchase, a conscious consumer will ask about the durability of the product, for example, is it long-lasting or reusable, and can it be recycled? A conscious consumer will also factor in whether the company making these products has high ethical standards (i.e., pay fair wages, support fair trade producers). If more people practice conscious consumption, our collective effort only can have a positive impact on our environment and society, but it can also encourage businesses to adopt more eco- and social conscious practices. 

As a personal experience, conscious consumerism allows us to purchase at our own pace and helps alleviate some of that burden where one feels sustainability means absolutely zero waste. The focus should not be rushing to buy but rather why you are buying. For example, there comes a time that you might want a new pair of sport apparel for your next workout because your old ones are torn, and that’s okay.

Courtesy of Juha Vehmaanperä

Projecting retailer strategies to boost consumer purchases in 2025

According to Salesforce, 84% of retail sales still take place in stores. Strikingly this holds true in fashion retail businesses where only 20% of sales are closed via e-commerce. Despite this, data showed less than 1% of retail media spend is allocated to in-store opportunities. This means that there is a missed opportunity for in-person engagement and interaction with customers. Therefore in 2025, fashion retail is likely to be more dynamic and customer-centric, where memorable retail experiences matter. This might be something like old-school personal one on one shopping to utilizing modern technology such as interactive kiosks or augmented reality or AR digital displays.  Consumers are also chasing after a seamless shopping experience, whether it’s online or in-store. Retailers are expected to invest in strategies that give consumers the power to connect with brands in real-time, which includes getting notification and updates on inventories. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) was responsible for $60 billion in online sales during Cyber Week in 2024. This technology was a game changer allowing retailers to personalize recommendations, provide 24/7 support and a streamline checkout process for their customers.

Gen Zers will continue to dominate in the fashion market with growing purchasing power (Bloomberg reported $360 billion in disposable income). Unfortunately, in a recent US survey, the most popular brands among this generation are all fast fashion brands: Forever 21, H&M, SHEIN, Zara, Old Navy and American Eagle. They also tend to shop for more items than they need compared to Millennials and Gen X, meaning more thrown away clothes. Studies show that approximately 79% of Gen Z shoppers said they would buy more frequently if there were a “gaming” component in their shopping experience. Therefore, in 2025, we expect to see more retailers using “gamification” techniques (i.e., collecting points, earning badges, virtual fitting rooms and fashion shows) to attract and further drive consumption.

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Visit NJAL I THE SHOP to discover visionary creators redefining the world of sustainable fashion.