Sustainability in the U.S Fashion Industry in 2023

Sustainability is one of the core values for the U.S. fashion industry. The 2023 USFIA Benchmarking Survey proves that brands and retailers are highly committed to making apparel sourcing more sustainable, ethical, and socially responsible and they want policy makers’ help.

For the second year in a row, around 90% of survey respondents plan to allocate more resources towards sustainability and compliance over the next two years. This is a significant difference from our findings prior to the pandemic, in which only 63% of respondents reported having such plans. About half of all respondents also anticipate an increase in their budget for sustainability or social responsibility practices over the next two years.

Not only do respondents expect to allocate more resources towards sustainability and compliance efforts, but the vast majority of brands and retailers are transitioning to more sustainable textile raw materials and developing products using recycled materials. In fact, more than 80% of respondents plan to allocate more resources to “develop or source products using recycled or sustainable textile materials” over the next two years. Nearly 60% of respondents report at least 10% of their sourced apparel products already use recycled or other sustainable textile materials. An additional 60% plan to “substantially increase sourcing apparel made from sustainable or recycled textile materials over the next five years.” The findings indicate a growing importance for sourcing clothing using sustainable textile fibers.

The U.S. fashion industry is also asking for policy makers’ help in their shift towards responsible sourcing.

“[R]espondents strongly agree on the need for direct policy support for sourcing more sustainable and recycled textile and apparel products, specifically in reducing tariff rates.”

Reducing or eliminating the U.S. import tariff rate for sustainable and recycled products (both inputs and finished products) is the top policy priority for respondents in 2023 with 92% support.

Want to learn more? Read the 2023 Benchmarking Study or sign up for Sourcing Trends & Challenges in 2023: Highlights from USFIA's Annual Benchmarking Study, our webinar with study author, Dr. Sheng Lu . Interested in participating in the next study? Contact us to find out more.