8 sustainable retail practices gaining traction
Sustainability is becoming embedded in the everyday mechanics of the retail industry. Rather than relying solely on environmental pledges, retailers are rethinking how products are sourced, packaged, sold, transported, repaired and ultimately recovered.
Consumer expectations are helping drive the change. BearingPoint’s 2025 Sustainable Retail Barometer found that 69% of European consumers factor sustainability into purchasing decisions, while 75% are aware of the impact of their consumption choices. In the UK, 69% consider sustainability when buying, although one in four consumers is unwilling to pay anything extra for a more sustainable alternative.
That creates a challenge for sustainable retail. Environmental improvements increasingly need to work commercially, without making products significantly more expensive or inconvenient.
Here are eight practices gaining traction across the sector.
1. Resale becomes a mainstream retail channel
The second-hand economy is evolving from a consumer-to-consumer phenomenon into a serious opportunity for established retailers.
BearingPoint reports that 60% of European consumers participate in at least one second-hand activity. In the UK, 60% buy second-hand goods, illustrating how recommerce has moved towards mainstream consumer behaviour.
Retailers are responding with trade-in schemes, refurbished products, branded resale platforms and partnerships with established marketplaces. These models give businesses an opportunity to participate in transactions that might otherwise happen entirely outside their ecosystems.
The environmental case is also becoming measurable. WRAP found that 64.6% of preloved clothing purchases in its research displaced the purchase of a new item. Buying a second-hand pair of jeans online rather than new could save more than 30kg of CO2e.
For the retail industry, resale is increasingly both a circularity strategy and a potential new revenue stream.
2. Repair services extend product lifecycles
Repair is emerging as another practical component of sustainable retail, particularly across fashion, footwear, electronics and outdoor products.
Retailers can participate through in-store repair services, specialist partnerships, warranties, replacement components and better access to spare parts. The objective is simple: keep products in use for longer.
Evidence suggests that repair can significantly affect purchasing behaviour. WRAP found that 82.2% of repaired clothing items in its research displaced a new purchase. Repairing one cotton T-shirt instead of replacing it could save more than 7.5kg of CO2e.
This makes repair particularly interesting commercially. A retailer can maintain a customer relationship long after the original transaction while potentially generating service revenue.
As circular business models mature, longevity could become a product attribute alongside price, quality and design.
3. Refill and reuse move closer to everyday shopping
Refill and reusable packaging systems have spent years in experimental phases. The next challenge is making them convenient enough to compete with disposable packaging at scale.
Consumer participation suggests there is a foundation for growth. BearingPoint found that 75% of European consumers buy products in bulk or returnable formats. The equivalent figure among UK consumers is also 75%.
Retailers are experimenting with refill stations, prefilled reusable containers, deposit systems and packaging that can be collected, cleaned and returned to circulation.
Success, however, depends on operational execution. Reuse requires reverse logistics, standardised containers, washing capacity and convenient return points. Consumers are unlikely to embrace systems that substantially increase either cost or effort.
The opportunity is therefore shifting from simply offering refill towards making reuse as frictionless as conventional shopping.
4. Packaging becomes leaner and more circular
Reducing packaging remains one of the most visible areas of retail sustainability, but strategies are becoming more sophisticated.
Retailers are removing unnecessary packaging, reducing material weight, increasing recycled content and redesigning formats to improve recyclability. Others are examining whether packaging can be eliminated or reused entirely.
The commercial incentives are also strengthening. Packaging creates material, transport and waste-management costs, meaning reductions can deliver operational benefits alongside environmental improvements.
Regulatory pressure is reinforcing the direction of travel. Across Europe, sustainability requirements are increasingly focused on the entire lifecycle of products and materials, creating greater incentives for retailers and suppliers to consider waste at the design stage.
For sustainable retail, the best packaging may increasingly be the smallest amount required to protect and deliver the product effectively.
5. Stores become more energy efficient
Physical retail estates remain an important target for decarbonisation, particularly for businesses operating hundreds or thousands of locations.
LED lighting, efficient refrigeration, smart building controls, heat recovery, improved insulation and electrified heating can all reduce direct energy consumption.
Progress is already visible. The British Retail Consortium’s 2025 net zero stocktake found that 90% of new retail buildings among respondents were lit using LEDs. It also found that 91% of retail respondents had established greenhouse gas emissions baselines and publicly reported emissions.
For grocery retailers, refrigeration provides another significant opportunity because cooling systems operate continuously and can account for substantial energy use.
Energy efficiency also has an advantage that many sustainability initiatives lack: the financial return can be relatively easy to demonstrate. Reducing energy consumption can simultaneously lower emissions and operating expenditure.
6. Smarter inventory tackles unsold products
Waste is increasingly being addressed before products reach the end of their lives.
Retailers are improving forecasting, inventory visibility and markdown strategies to reduce overstocks. Better data can help businesses identify when demand is weakening, move stock between locations and discount products before they become unsellable.
Regulation is adding urgency. Under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products framework, the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear by large businesses is prohibited from July 2026, with exemptions applying to smaller businesses and a later timetable for medium-sized enterprises.
This changes the economics of excess inventory. Preventing overproduction or finding resale, donation and recycling routes becomes increasingly important.
The result could be a closer relationship between sustainability and merchandising. Every product that remains unsold represents tied-up capital as well as a potential environmental cost.
7. Scope 3 emissions put suppliers in focus
Perhaps the biggest sustainability challenge facing the retail industry lies outside stores and distribution centres.
The BRC’s 2025 net zero stocktake found that more than 93% of UK retail emissions fall outside retailers’ direct control. Yet only 30% of the largest suppliers covered by the research provided greenhouse gas emissions data.
That makes supplier engagement central to credible decarbonisation.
Retailers are increasingly asking manufacturers for emissions information, setting procurement requirements, investigating product footprints and examining the carbon impact of raw materials, manufacturing and transportation.
The scale of Scope 3 emissions also means competition alone cannot solve the problem. The BRC argues that greater collaboration is required between retailers, suppliers, consumers and policymakers.
Sustainable retail increasingly begins long before a product reaches the shelf.
8. Local and responsible sourcing gains ground
Consumers are also paying closer attention to where products originate and how they are produced.
BearingPoint found that 80% of European consumers prefer short supply chains, while 75% purchase organic or environmentally labelled food. Among UK respondents, 72% buy local food and 74% purchase organic or environmentally labelled food products.
That creates opportunities for retailers to strengthen relationships with local producers, expand certified ranges and provide clearer information about provenance.
Local sourcing is not automatically more sustainable in every category, particularly when production methods and transport efficiencies are considered. However, shorter and more transparent supply chains can offer additional advantages, including freshness, traceability and resilience.
Responsible sourcing therefore increasingly sits at the intersection of environmental performance, supply chain management and consumer trust.
Sustainable retail becomes an operating model
Resale and repair are extending product lifecycles. Refill models and packaging reductions are tackling material waste. Efficient stores can lower energy consumption, while smarter inventory systems reduce excess stock. Meanwhile, Scope 3 strategies are pushing sustainability deeper into global supply chains.
Consumers appear receptive, but the economics remain critical. BearingPoint’s European research found that although 73% of consumers say they are willing to spend more on sustainable products, 61% reject a premium greater than 10%.
That gap helps explain where the retail industry may head next. Sustainable practices that depend entirely on customers paying substantially more will face limitations. Those that combine environmental benefits with convenience, efficiency, lower waste or new revenue opportunities have a clearer route to scale.
For retailers, sustainability is becoming less of a standalone initiative and more of an operating model that influences how products move through the entire commercial lifecycle.
