New consumer research from SHEIN, while drawn from a fast fashion cohort, surfaces three findings that matter for sporting goods brands: consumers reward durability over green premiums, activewear logs high wear rates and take-back programs must prioritize convenience.
SHEIN has published its 2025 Global Circularity Study, a large-scale consumer survey covering 15,461 respondents across 21 markets. The study was conducted among the company’s own customers between November and December 2025. Its findings were not designed for the sporting goods industry, and the sample skews significantly from a sporting goods consumer profile — 89.8 percent of respondents identified as female, 74.4 percent reported incomes below their national median and the age range was capped at 44.
That caveat applies to everything that follows. Still, three findings carry enough directional weight to be relevant to sporting goods brands.
Consumers reward durability, not environmental credentials
The study’s most commercially useful signal for sporting goods brands is how consumers define sustainable or circular clothing. Nearly half of all respondents — 47 percent — identified durability and long-lasting quality as the defining characteristic, ahead of low-impact materials at 37.8 percent and ethical labor practices at 29.8 percent. Fewer than 10 percent associated sustainable clothing with higher prices or fewer style options. For brands still testing a green-premium positioning, the data offers a pointed counter-argument.
Activewear wear frequency aligns with premium product logic
Among the six clothing categories surveyed, activewear ranked alongside everyday basics, outerwear and footwear as the categories with the highest reported number of wears. Some 36.2 percent of respondents said they wear activewear items more than 50 times, with a further 17.4 percent reporting between 31 and 50 wears before removing them from active rotation. The figures broadly align with Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) reference values for apparel performance expectations — relevant context as European regulation tightens around lifecycle claims.
Take-back programs need access, not messaging
Formal textile recycling participation was low: 37.2 percent of respondents reported recycling clothing in the past year. Among those who had not, 43.6 percent said knowledge of how and where to recycle would change their behavior, with proximity of drop-off facilities a close second at 40.3 percent. For sporting goods retailers developing take-back infrastructure, the data reinforces that convenience drives participation more than sustainability communications.
Consumer interest in digital product passports — a format mandated by incoming EU eco-design requirements for apparel — registered at 15.6 percent, the lowest among all circular initiatives tested.
The full report can be downloaded here.
