What's Inside

Amid current, challenging economic times, interest in sustainability is regrettably likely to take a secondary importance for many companies. However, Coresight Research believes that sustainability is not antithetical to profitability.

As retailers and brands reflect on the environmental impacts of their business this Earth Day (April 22, 2025), we explore five key areas where emerging technology can help to enhance sustainability while simultaneously improving revenues or reducing costs—in effect, doing good while doing well.

Data in this research report include:

• Proprietary survey data on reasons for online apparel returns and what share of consumers planned to participate in the secondhand market while shopping for the 2024 holiday season
• The estimated value of all food wasted across the supply chain in 2024
• The estimated size of the US fashion resale market, 2025 and 2028

Companies mentioned in this report include: Apple, Amazon, Avery Dennison, Digital Wave Technologies, Invent.ai, Kroger, Macy’s, Inc., Meta Platforms, RELEX, SAP, Shein, Target, ThredUp, Walmart

Other relevant research:

• Sustainability in Focus—Middle-Income Millennials Choose Eco-Friendly Retailers: US Consumer Survey Insights Extra
• CES 2025 Wrap-Up: Top 10 Takeaways—AI, Retail Tech, Sustainability, and Health and Wellness Come into Focus
• Retail 2025: 10 AI Trends—An Inflection Point in the GenAI Revolution
• Introducing the FRESH Framework: Winning in Grocery with AI While Reducing Food Waste
• All our coverage of sustainability in retail