Sustainable athleisure growth

Sustainable athleisure is moving from a niche apparel pitch to a larger retail category, with one market forecast putting global sales at $53.4 billion by 2030. (alliedmarketresearch.com) Allied Market Research said the segment was worth $17.6 billion in 2020 and projected an 11.6 percent compound annual growth rate from 2021 through 2030. Grand View Research, using a different methodology, estimated the market at $88.75 billion in 2024 and projected $176.05 billion by 2030. (alliedmarketresearch.com) (grandviewresearch.com) The products in that category are workout or casual clothes made with lower-impact inputs such as organic cotton, recycled polyester, hemp, and Tencel, a branded lyocell fiber. Grand View Research said North America was the largest market in 2024, while Asia Pacific was the fastest-growing region. (grandviewresearch.com) The demand story sits at the intersection of sportswear and everyday dress. McKinsey and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry said in a March 2025 industry report that sporting-goods companies were navigating changing consumer behavior, while their December 2024 consumer survey covered more than 3,600 people in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (mckinsey.com) (prnewswire.com) Brands are also trying to turn sustainability from a fabric claim into a service model. Lululemon said its Like New resale program, launched as a pilot in April 2021, has kept more than 1.7 million used items in circulation in the United States, while Patagonia’s Worn Wear business sells used gear and takes trade-ins and repairs. (shop.lululemon.com) (wornwear.patagonia.com) The supply side is less tidy than the marketing. Textile Exchange said recycled polyester’s share of total polyester output fell from 13.6 percent to 12.5 percent in 2023, even though recycled fiber volumes rose slightly, because virgin synthetics remained cheaper and recycling technology stayed limited. (textileexchange.org) That gap has put more pressure on brand claims. The Federal Trade Commission says its Green Guides are meant to help marketers avoid deceptive environmental advertising, and the European Commission’s proposed Green Claims rules would require companies to back up voluntary environmental claims with science-based, verifiable evidence. (ftc.gov) (environment.ec.europa.eu) The result is a category growing on two tracks at once: more shoppers are buying leggings, tops, and outerwear sold as lower-impact, and regulators are asking brands to prove what those labels mean. (alliedmarketresearch.com) (ftc.gov)