The Future of Sustainable Fashion

We all know about fast fashion and its detrimental effect on our planet. (Check out our guide to The Problem With Fast Fashion and how it’s damaging the planet.) Now let’s look to 2030 to see what sustainable textiles will be used for sustainable fashion brands.

Brands like H&M and Zara aren’t slowing down. They still affect our planet negatively every time an aspiring fashionista walks out of their stores carrying an acceptable brown paper bag with their logo emblazoned on and full of fast fashion items.

We know that the clothing industry, especially the fashion industry, isn’t slowing down, but we are hopeful it will take more positive steps toward sustainable clothing in future.

Let’s check out the cost fashion has on the world. For inspiration, check out our guide to Sustainable Innovation: The Way Forward For Business in 2024.

Sustainable Fashion in the UK in 2025

According to Oxfam, there’s plenty to be concerned about. It gives the following statistics and information:

1. Global clothing manufacturers produce over 1 million garments every day.
2. The consumption of clothing globally will increase by 63%, equivalent to a supply of 500 billion T-shirts. 
3. Every year, people dump half a million tons of plastic microfibres into the ocean; approximately 50 billion plastic bottles. 
4. If the current growth continues, the emissions caused by fast fashion will grow by 50% in 2030.
5. 75% of people buying fashion clothing believe sustainability is important. One-third of this amount choose brands that help improve sustainability efforts.
6. In just one month, the carbon footprint of new clothing bought in the UK was greater than flying a plane around the world 900 times.

Unsustainable Clothing Brands

Statistics for these brands take one’s breath away. And that’s before we consider the cost of fast fashion on humans working in this industry. The fashion industry, which mainly comprises female workers, is notoriously badly paid and working conditions are often inhumane, infringing on human rights.

Using chemicals in clothing manufacturing is another health hazard for every worker and consumer in this industry – and that’s before we start talking about carbon emissions.

The Cost of Ignoring Sustainability 

Harvard Business Review discusses The Cost of Instant Fashion and talks about the incredible growth of online fashion portals like Shein which is currently “bigger than H&M and approaching the size of Zara” with a revenue target for 2025 exceeding $50 billion. (It considers Zara “the pioneer of fast fashion” but says that Shein has overtaken this global brand a while ago. Currently many manufacturers and fashion designers are suing the Chinese company for copyright and trademark infringement.)

Future Trends

We’ve done our research, and this is an idea of what to expect:

1. A More Personalised Online Shopping Experience

Using AI, machine learning technology can work out what people want, and help businesses give this to their customers. It includes everything from pricing the product to communicating its value through marketing. This is particularly effective for niche businesses targeting their products to potential buyers.

2. Virtual Try-Ons

Many potential fashion buyers never take their shopping baskets to check out or return garments because they have no idea whether these garments will fit or look good. A ‘virtual try-on’ is the latest way to avoid this issue.

Using augmented reality (AR) and machine learning, they can now see for themselves what the item of clothing will look like. It replicates the experience of trying on the garments in-store. It’s also fun, so customers enjoy ‘trying on’ clothes to see what they look like.

Here's how a virtual try-on works:

• With AR and AI, your body is scanned using a webcam to create a 360-degree 3D full body image. 
• We use Radio frequency identification (RFID) to scan the garment the person wants to try on virtually, and the result is an image of your body wearing the garment. 
• Designer Prada has used virtual try-ons for customers to see what they look like wearing high fashion items from the brand.
• Virtual try-ons will reduce returns.

3. Smart Mirrors

These are an extension of a virtual try-on. Smart mirrors let consumers pick an item from an online library, try it on, and then change garments, much like they would in a store if they had taken several clothing items into a fitting room. They do this through RFID (see 2, above). Aside from streamlining the online purchasing process, this also reduces costs, as real-life stores don’t need to keep as much stock.

4. Digital Personal Assistants

Your digital shopping assistant offers you the service you expect when you visit expensive real-life designer stores. But they are waiting for you online to make your shopping experience sublime. Bots, is the label we give them, take you through every stage of the customer journey, from the first time you look at an item to after you’ve happily purchased it.

The bot can do everything a personal shopping assistant can offer, helping you style your garment, offering advice on what will suit your shape, and putting gorgeous outfits together. They also assist you through the shopping experience to make it more enjoyable. All by combining machine learning, generative AI and advanced algorithms.

5. Wearable Technology

This type of technology takes fashion clothing manufacture to a new level, creating garments that have almost magical qualities: they may change colour, of keep us cool in summer and warm in winter. Like a smart watch, they may be able to collect medical data or track our performance while exercising or jogging.

Sensoria is an example of smart sports socks. It tests your running style and identifies whether it’s harming your feet. All you have to do is pair your smartphone with the brand’s fitness mobile app and a virtual coach will monitor your running style in real time. You receive audio and video feedback on your run.

What Your Business can Expect by 2030

One of the biggest trends expected in the sustainable fashion industry examples we researched for this article is peoples’ attitude towards sustainability, ‘conscious consumerism’. Conscious fashion is the opposite of fast fashion – a direct negative response to discarded garments and textile waste ending in landfill. As we try to be more environmentally aware, we know every company should choose sustainably manufactured clothing they have dyed and packaged sustainably. This includes using bacterial-based and algae-based dyes and recycled packaging in one’s business.

As a result, brands use recycled materials when they produce garments, and, believe it or not, some encourage consumers to purchase less. It makes sense: buy a garment that is of exceptional quality and classically designed and it will last you longer.

The European Climate Pact recently posted an intriguing piece on their site, envisioning what our closets will look like in 2030. The headline, Our wardrobe in 2030: rented, recycled, and regenerative, perfectly encapsulates the information! It talks about the use of "alternatives to leather derived from plants"; "eco-friendly, recyclable, natural textiles" and "60% pre-owned apparel".

Here's some good news: Second-hand clothing is another trend we expect to grow to epic proportions. Statista already predicts that 8% of all clothing will be second-hand by 2025, and that’s not far off! Of course, second-hand clothing assists circularity, an economy that promotes sharing, hiring, repairing, and recycling items and fabrics.

Customers Will be Different

Generation Alpha – those born between 2013 and 2024 – will be the most diverse group ever, racially, ethnically, and in every other way. The fashion clothing business will change accordingly, offering gender fluidity with clothing in every possible size.

New Age Fabrics & Brands

We couldn’t compile a guide to being environmentally aware without including fabrics, and innovative materials that will make their mark in years to come. We’ve already given you plenty of data about  Choosing Sustainable Textiles For Your Fabrics and Products. Now we show some of the fascinating fabrics that will revolutionise the fashion industry in years to come. These materials are also natural and extremely eco-friendly, offering designers greener alternatives for their major fashion collections.

Let’s take a look:

• Partnerships across industries: Two visible collaborations already on our radar include Stella McCartney and Parley For The Oceans, who have become partners. The UK fashion designer is currently using ocean plastics in her latest designs.
• Gucci Equilibrium: Design giant Gucci has partnered with Global Citizen and UNICEF on various social initiatives. Every year the design house showcases the Gucci Equilibrium Impact Report, which highlights new initiatives, how the company has accelerated positive change and reduced its global footprint to “attain our vision of a modern, responsible and circular luxury for the future”.

Innovations to Save the Environment

Here is a taste of some of the latest fabric innovations that are getting ready to take the spotlight:

• Chitin Fibre: Produced from food waste, mainly the shells of crustaceans, this fibre is cheap and very versatile. People use it in various manufacturing processes but haven’t produced fabric yet.
• Banana Fibre: Another foodstuff that is inexpensive and versatile. Experiments are underway to find out just how strong the fibre is, and if it’s as strong as bamboo, it could be a contender in the new fabric stakes. It’s also biodegradable, making it even more geared towards sustainability.
• Seaweed: This material is extremely versatile and does not harm the environment. But as we love eating sushi, it’s not likely to become fabric – or is it?
• Corn Fibre: Another cheap and versatile material. The start-up Ingeo is trying to make fabric and clothing from it by using dextrose in corn fibre. We’re waiting with bated breath to hear more.
• Coconut Fibre: This is called ‘coir’ and is made of discarded coconut husks. There’s talk about manufacturers in Sri Lanka producing accessories like shoes and handbags.