Despite economic pressures pulling down overall sentiment, sports and outdoorwear show resilience. As digital tools, events and circular solutions drive optimism, innovation remains a vital lever for progress in a turbulent 2025.
Positivity dips in H1, as 2025 continues to offer difficult economic conditions for the market. However, greater digital and technological integration, advances in circularity and industry meeting points spark enthusiasm.
Sentiment across the textile & apparel industry fell to +0.50 – the lowest point over the last 18 months. However, as evidenced over the same period, the sports & outdoorwear arena appears more resilient to headwinds, settling at a more positive +0.67 for the first half of the year.
Analysing the shift more granularly, sportswear seems the more optimistic of the two sectors, seeing a 3% gain from H2 2024 to +0.75. Meanwhile, the outdoor space has retrenched -6%, settling at a lower, yet still positive, +0.66.
Controlling the controllables
Nevertheless, in turbulent times case studies evidencing advanced digital integration and improved supply chain integration have brought on optimism for both segments; sentiment for Industry 4.0 themed content maintained a strong +0.76 score from H2 2024 within the sports & outdoorwear sectors.
Similarly, the theme is one of the most positive across the wider textile & apparel industry, at +0.72 in H1 – likely spurred by innovations’ promise of more agile supply chains, improved business agility and smoother compliance.
Returning to activewear,
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