The Kearney CFX 2025 report confirms that circular fashion has finally gone mainstream among global apparel brands, but only a small minority are turning pilot projects into truly scaled circular business models.
Circular Fashion Scores Rising But Momentum Is Slowing
In 2025, the Circular Fashion Index (CFX) evaluated 246 brands across 18 Countries and five core product categories, including fashion, sports, outdoor, underwear and lingerie, and footwear. More than 70% of brands now sit in the “moderate” circularity zone, which Kearney describes as a sign that circularity has become a strategic norm rather than a niche experiment.
However, only 3% to 5% of brands reached the “extensive” implementation level, revealing a major conversion gap between ambition and execution. Year‑on‑year CFX score gains are also slowing, which the report links to structural hurdles such as limited infrastructure, complex operations, and a still‑unclear business case for many circular models.
Where Circular Progress Is Happening
According to Kearney, most of the latest progress comes from circular design and closing‑the‑loop initiatives, as more brands rethink products for durability, disassembly, and recyclability from the outset. Examples in the report include mono‑material construction, modular design, and the use of digital product passports to support full life‑cycle transparency and future reuse or recycling.
Raw material reuse and take‑back programs are also gaining traction, particularly in Europe and North America, where regulation and extended producer responsibility schemes are pushing brands to think beyond first sale. Categories such as underwear and lingerie, and some segments of luxury fashion, show some of the strongest score increases, especially in circular design and communication.
Regional Leaders And Regulatory Pressure
Regionally, Europe leads with an average CFX score of 3.6, followed by North America at 3.4, both above the global mean. Kearney links Europe’s stronger gains (+0.4 points since 2024) to measures like repair bonuses, extended producer responsibility, and upcoming eco‑design rules that reward durability, reuse, and recyclability.
The report notes a clear shift “from voluntary to mandated” circular action, as regulators in Europe and beyond start to move from policy design to enforcement. This regulatory push is forcing brands to embed circularity into core product development, sourcing, and after‑sales strategies rather than treating it as a side program.
The Biggest Gaps Repair Resale And Rental
Despite the headline progress, secondary market levers remain the weakest part of the circular ecosystem. In 2025, about 65% of brands still scored “limited” on repair, and around 70% scored “limited” on resale, while rental is the lowest‑performing dimension across the entire index. Many initiatives remain small pilots in selected markets or channels, with limited integration into loyalty programs or e‑commerce.
Kearney identifies four main blockers: scalability, profitability, operational complexity, and fragmented ownership inside organizations. Internal teams are often stretched running resale, repair, and rental “on top of” existing operations, which keeps circular models from reaching the scale needed to materially decouple growth from new production.
From Pilots To Scaled Circular Business
To move from momentum to real market impact, the CFX 2025 report calls for brands to treat circularity as a growth lever rather than a compliance box. That means investing in infrastructure, data, and partnerships that can support industrial‑scale take‑back, refurbishment, recycling, and secondary‑market sales across regions.
The authors argue that the next phase of circular fashion will be defined less by high‑visibility capsule collections and more by deep integration into sourcing, merchandising, logistics, and customer journeys. Brands that build robust systems now—especially in their strongest product categories and core geographies—are likely to pull ahead as regulation tightens and consumers increasingly reward longevity and reuse.
