The consumer enters 2026 saturated with climate change and puts its focus on other urgencies. Geopolitical conflicts, insecurity and economic pressure have gained weight in their scale of concerns, partially displacing the climate crisis, although without completely deactivating it. This is the conclusion of Kantar’s latest Sustainability Sector Index, based on surveys of 13,000 people in twelve markets. The study reveals a shift in priorities rather than an abandonment of commitment: climate is losing intensity, but not structural relevance.
International wars and conflicts now top the list of global concerns at 36%, followed by the environment and the economy, just under 30%. “People are not disconnected from the climate, they are overwhelmed,“ summarizes Karine Trinquetel, head of sustainable transformation at Kantar.
That emotional saturation creates a clear risk for brands: interpreting the decline in intensity as carte blanche to lower ambitions. “It may be tempting to hold back on sustainability communication, but now is not the time to retreat,“ warns Trinquetel.
In fashion, footwear and luxury consumption, the message is particularly relevant. The report stresses that consumers continue to value responsible proposals, but penalize noise, vagueness and lack of evidence, an area where the sector has a long-standing credibility crisis.
57% of those surveyed by Kantar say they have seen false or misleading information on sustainability from brands
In fact, 57% of respondents say they have seen false or misleading sustainability information from brands. Although technology, media and energy lead the greenwashing ranking, textile is moving in a context of cross-cutting distrust.
Despite this, demand remains strong: 74% of consumers say they have tried or are willing to try brands with a positive environmental or social impact. For retailers, the challenge is no longer to convince, but to facilitate sustainable choices without friction or perceived cost overruns.
The study insists that the sustainability that builds value is the one that is experienced, not the one that is proclaimed. Repair, resale, waste reduction, product durability or price clarity now outweigh grand, abstract climate commitments.
74% of consumers say they have tried or are willing to try brands with a positive environmental or social impact
“Sustainability is no longer a moral issue, it is a business imperative,“ says the report, which estimates that these perceptions explain up to 10% of brand equity in leading companies. In mature categories such as fashion, that impact is played out in store and product.
With a fatigued but not indifferent consumer, the message for the fashion industry is clear. “The brands that succeed in 2026 will not be the ones that speak the loudest about sustainability, but the ones that appear the smartest, with clarity, credibility and action. In a context of information saturation, the difference will be in demonstrating real progress and facilitating sustainable behaviors,“ concludes the Kantar report.
