Consumption

A simple label could change fashion’s wasteful habits. By revealing the real price of each wear, a cost-per-wear tag can expose fast fashion’s hidden expense, turning durable clothing into the smarter, more sustainable choice and reframing environmental responsibility as financial intelligence for consumers who want their wardrobes to last—and matter—beyond just another season’s trend.

The circular economy is often seen as fashion’s path to sustainability, with innovations in recycling and AI promising reduced waste. Yet new research warns these solutions may backfire. By fuelling increased production and consumption, circular strategies could intensify fashion’s environmental toll unless carefully managed through taxes, policies, and behavioural change.

Quick commerce in India is no longer just about groceries and essentials. As consumer behaviour shifts towards instant gratification, fashion has emerged as the next big frontier for 15–45-minute delivery platforms. With high margins, event-driven urgency, and tech-savvy buyers, fashion could transform quick commerce into a sustainable and profitable model for the Indian retail industry.

Asos is under scrutiny for banning customers deemed to be overusing its free returns service, sparking debate about the viability of online fashion’s long-standing business model. While the retailer defends its decision as necessary to maintain service standards, critics argue it exposes deeper flaws in the digital shopping experience and its environmental and financial sustainability.

New insights into sustainable fashion reveal that the true driver behind eco-friendly purchasing is lived experience rather than simple awareness. A large-scale academic review highlights how direct engagement helps consumers overcome scepticism, build habits, and stick with greener choices. This shift in understanding offers critical implications for brands aiming to close the intention-behaviour gap.

The retail industry is confronting a £64.5 billion waste crisis caused by rampant overproduction, with billions of garments and products never reaching consumers. A new report highlights the scale of the problem and explores the business case for degrowth, circular models, and sustainable production strategies as viable paths to reduce waste and protect long-term profitability.

Viet Nam’s Gen Z is reshaping fashion with demands for transparency, affordability, and authenticity. This generation values sustainability but remains deeply sceptical of greenwashing. For brands and policymakers, understanding what drives—and deters—Gen Z’s eco-choices is essential to navigating Viet Nam’s emerging green fashion market and avoiding a trust crisis.

A new report from the Netherlands’ Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate warns that fast fashion is derailing global efforts to build a circular textile economy. With low-quality, disposable clothing flooding the system, the report outlines urgent structural, financial, and policy reforms needed to keep circularity from collapsing under its own weight.

Hong Kong dumps 17,480 suitcases worth of textiles daily. A new Redress report reveals massive untapped potential in recycling non-wearable clothing waste and urges urgent action from brands, recyclers, and policymakers to build a circular fashion economy before landfills hit capacity by 2026.

Trump’s tariffs were designed to bring manufacturing back to the US but instead reshaped global supply chains. Ultra-fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu adapted by shifting production and targeting new markets like Australia. The result is an even faster, cheaper, and more exploitative fashion system with hidden environmental and human costs.