The state of sustainable fashion in 2026 – why does circularity matter?
Tom Atkin, January 26, 2026
I was going to start this blog with “now the dust has settled from the 2025-2026 changover”, but no dust has settled. Jan ’26 has been carnage.
Also my title starting, “the state of…” sets a pretty negative tone deliberately. The fashion industry is not in a good “state”, but some of us are moving in the right direction!
January 2026 has been carnage across the world and our industry is no exception. At Fibre to Fibre, we began the year exhibiting at Source Fashion which was a fantastic success: lots of interest in our process and some useful connections made (see our previous blog for more info on fairs).
This blog is going to be a 2026 introduction for the fashion industry. What we’re expecting, what we’re hoping for etc. In a nutshell, we want to see true circularity increasing in uptake. It’s the future of production – so let’s get on with it!
Is circular fashion going mainstream?
I hope so – it needs to! I’m going to go back a question though; what’s stopped it going mainstream in the past?
Price and quality: until recently the circular fashion options have been either very expensive or poor quality (exceptions along the way!).
We’re seeing major brands set new zero targets, release impact statements and actually listen to consumer demands around transparency and waste. Alongside the documents these companies publish, there is also real action happening. Brands like Lucy and Yak, Finisterre and others are producing clothing in genuinely more sustainable ways.
And the high street brands are reacting to this. Many are switching to more sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester, and some are even testing post-consumer textile recycling. Exciting steps towards textiles circularity becoming the norm.
So, mainstream? Not yet, but I feel like the first steps have been taken!
Why does circular fashion need better systems?
Like “sustainability”, the term “circularity” is thrown around like it’s going out of fashion. And if we don’t see some action soon, it might do!
True circularity means:
Reduced reliance on virgin fibres.
Designing garments to be reused and/or recycled.
Ensuring textiles can return to the supply chain at end of life.
Many recycling systems are downcycling textiles into lower value products like insulation. This is better than landfill, yes. But the key to circularity is not in downcycling but is in textile-to-textile recycling.
Textile to textile recycling addresses one of fashion’s greatest challenges; How to scale sustainability without sacrificing performance and price. Not easy, but it is being done.
What will the fashion trends of 2026 be?
I don’t mean skinny jeans coming back, I mean genuine industry changes.
Textile to textile recycling
Now it’s scalable, the question isn’t “why”, but is “why not”.
Brands are looking for partners to close the loop who can:
Recycle their pre and post-consumer textile waste.
Maintain fibre length and quality.
Provide traceable and digestible impact data.
Transparency
People are bored of hearing about sustainability but not seeing any real action. Transparency is the best way for brands to show they are taking real action.
What is the composition of the garment? Where were the fibres sourced? How much waster was used to make the garment? How much CO2 was used?
Digital product passports now make this information readily available to the consumer. This is great because consumers can discover just what it takes to make a t-shirt, but also because brands are now being held more accountable for the damage each item of clothing does.
For brands, being transparent increases trust which is the best way to create loyalty. Would you be loyal to a partner you don’t trust? Unlikely! And whether you like it or not, your mind works the same when thinking about brands.
Quality driven sustainability
So, this is a step in the right direction, but it is also a bit of a cop out for brands wanting to avoid recycled materials. We see a lot of luxury brands labelling themselves as sustainable because their products are designed to last a long time. And yes, this is good because maybe the landfill will be reduced as garments wear out less quickly.
However, the environmental damage sustained producing virtually any new garment is substantial. Stats have shown us that using recycled materials for just 50% of a garment’s composition can reduce land usage by around 70%.
A garment being durable does not mean it is sustainable. Polyester is durable. Nylon is durable. Both of which will not decompose and both of which release microplastics – and I haven’t even gone into the oil used to produce them (I don’t have the word count!).
Using recycled clothing waste to make new garments no longer means “low quality” or “high price”. Technological developments of late have resulted in solutions that allow brands to recycle their textile waste and make new, high-quality garments. So, no need to pledge sustainability because you make a high-quality garment, you can now pledge sustainability by operating a circular supply chain! Pretty exciting!
Regulation
We hope! EPR is coming in 2027 in the EU. Again, we hope! There always seems to be delays on these things but it’s looking positive so far (touch wood!).
This is great for many brands who have already invested in sustainable supply chains as they do not have that much work to do. However, for many high street brands EPR will raise a selection of costly issues.
New suppliers, confused customers, selling price changes. Brands need to get ahead while they still can an invest in circularity before the “trend” is the norm.
2026 after 1 month
Maybe I’m being optimistic, but we’re already moving towards a lot of these “trends” in sustainable fashion. Fibre to Fibre exhibited at our first fair in the UK 2 weeks ago and we had A LOT of interest.
Circular fashion has been “the future” for a while. Now, in January 2026, we can see it becoming “the norm”.