Consumers still want sustainability, but fashion brands are failing to deliver

Sustainability remains a powerful force shaping how people shop, but consumers are increasingly weighed down by global uncertainty, according to Bain & Company’s latest Consumer Lab ESG Survey 2025, which polled more than 14,000 people across eight countries including the US, UK, China, Italy, and Indonesia.

The study finds that while environmental concern has dipped, from 90 percent in 2023 to 79 percent in 2025, four in five consumers still care about sustainability. Interest is highest in fast-growing markets such as China, Indonesia, and the UAE. Yet shoppers everywhere feel overwhelmed by cost-of-living pressures, wars, and political instability. Bain calls them “the overloaded consumer.”

Despite fatigue, behaviour is shifting. Around 70 percent of respondents want to live more sustainably, and nearly a third already practice six or more sustainable habits a day. Older consumers are emerging as the most active group: baby boomers have adopted more new sustainable routines than Gen Z over the past three years, aided by higher incomes and home ownership that make actions like installing solar panels easier.

However, barriers persist. Forty-seven percent of respondents say living sustainably costs more, while 42 percent would buy greener products if they were available locally. Confusing product claims and inconsistent labelling add to the problem. Bain argues that the failure lies less with consumers and more with brands that have not made sustainable options accessible, affordable, or clearly communicated.

The report estimates that US shoppers are willing to pay about 13 percent more for sustainable goods, yet many are charged double that. To close the gap, Bain advises brands to focus on innovation that removes trade-offs between price, performance, and sustainability, rather than relying on marketing alone. Examples such as refillable beauty systems by L’Oréal or reusable bottle brands like Hydro Flask show how product design and supportive policy can accelerate adoption.

Technology also plays a growing role. More than half of global consumers using generative-AI tools such as ChatGPT say they rely on them to make more sustainable choices, with usage especially high in China, Indonesia, and the UAE. For fashion brands, this means transparent data will soon influence not only human decisions but also algorithmic recommendations.

The message for the fashion industry is clear: demand for sustainability has not disappeared, it has matured. Consumers still expect brands to lead, but patience is wearing thin. Bain’s analysts conclude that companies capable of uniting design, sourcing, technology, and marketing around genuine sustainable innovation will capture the next wave of value creation. Those that do not risk being left out as “de-consumption” becomes the default response.