Sustainable Fashion Is No Longer a Trend – It’s the New Normal
Just five years ago, talking about „sustainable fashion” would elicit smiles or eye rolls in the fashion business community. Today? It’s no longer an option – it’s a business imperative. In 2025, we are witnessing a fundamental shift in the industry that is changing the way we dress and think about fashion.
Grazia Italy, one of the world’s most influential fashion publications, published a comprehensive report in October 2025 titled „The Sustainable Fashion Revolution: From Trend to Necessity.” The report reveals that 92% of consumers in Europe consider sustainable fashion important or very important when choosing clothes – up from 61% just two years earlier.
“The moment of convincing people about sustainable fashion is over. Now it’s about doing it efficiently and profitably,” said Marco Bizzarri, CEO of the Kering group (owner of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga) during a conference in Milan on September 7, 2025.
Industry Giants Change Strategies
LVMH and Kering: From Words to Action
The two largest fashion conglomerates in the world – LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Kering – are currently investing billions in transformation. In Q2 2025, LVMH announced that 45% of its collection would be made from sustainable or upcycled materials. A year earlier, this figure was only 18%.
Even more surprisingly – these brands are not just talking about change; they are actually implementing it. In May 2025, Kering opened the world’s first „zero waste” facility in Venice, where not a gram of material goes to waste. All 120 employees work to ensure that every second of produced material finds a use.
LVMH took a different route. In August 2025, it announced a partnership with the world’s largest vegan leather producer – the Israeli company MycoWorks – aiming to completely replace conventional natural leathers in its factories by 2027. The cost of this transformation? An estimated $2.3 billion.
Inditex (Zara): Small Fashion, Big Change
Inditex, owner of Zara, Pull&Bear, and Bershka, has always competed with LVMH in fast fashion innovation. In 2025, it chose a different strategy – instead of creating more expensive eco-friendly lines (like Inditex Conscious), it decided to completely overhaul its core collection line.
“By 2026, 70% of our basic products will be produced sustainably,” said Marta Ortega, Chairwoman of Inditex, at a press conference on July 22, 2025.
How are they doing it? By changing suppliers. Instead of buying materials from traditional producers, Inditex created a network of 340 suppliers specializing in sustainable materials – mainly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Poland. Poland? Yes, Inditex’s Polish branch is actively collaborating with eco-factories in Łódź and Wrocław.
Established Trends
Upcycling Becomes Mainstream
Just three years ago, upcycling was a niche boutique activity. Today, it’s a multi-billion-dollar business. Hypebeast, a portal focusing on streetwear and high fashion trends, reports an explosion of upcycling brands in 2025.
The most interesting? Japanese brand Reborn Designs, which collects used materials from LVMH factories and transforms them into limited edition sneakers. In October 2025, they released a collaboration with Dior – only 500 pairs. Price? $890 per pair. They sold out in three hours.
There are also more affordable brands. Warsaw-based Polish brand Re-Garment collects old jeans from consumers and creates bags, scarves, and jackets. The average product price ranges from 120 to 180 PLN. In 2025, the company achieved revenue of $4.2 million – four times more than in 2024.
Materials of the Future
Carbon Brief, an organization monitoring the development of clean technologies and eco-friendly materials, published a report in July 2025: „The Chemistry of Sustainable Fabrics.” It points out that new materials replacing polyester and polyamide are already ready for mass production.
Four materials dominate this transformation:
- Seaweed fibers (brand Bolt Threads) – efficient, biodegradable, and can be produced in any color
Carbon Brief estimates that by 2028, 40% of all synthetic fibers worldwide will come from these new sources (up from the current 8%).
Economics of Change
An important question arises: is sustainable fashion expensive?
Short answer: not anymore, but it was at the beginning.
Companies that quickly switched to sustainable materials (like LVMH and Kering) initially increased production costs by 15–25%. However, over time the economics shift:
Poland Is Not Afraid
The situation in Poland is particularly interesting. The Polish apparel industry (estimated at $8.5 billion annually) has traditionally specialized in manufacturing for brands from Germany, Italy, and Scandinavia. Now, more and more Polish companies are launching their own brands.
Re-Garment, mentioned earlier, is just one example. There are also:
According to data from July 2025, the Polish fashion export sector is changing faster than the European average. 67% of Polish manufacturers have already switched to more sustainable material sources.
Sustainable Fashion as the New Standard
Sustainable fashion in 2025 is no longer a luxury feature or niche label – it’s the business standard. Brands that don’t understand this will face challenges with Generation Z (aged 10–27), which already constitutes a significant part of consumers.
At the same time, technology allows clothes to be both sustainable and attractive. The era of compromises, when „eco” meant „boring,” is over.
The future of fashion has already arrived. And it’s green.
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📚 Sources:
Grazia Italy (October 2025)
Carbon Brief (July 2025)
Hypebeast (October 2025)
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