Sustainability is the buzzword among today's consumers and holds the key focus in the post-pandemic fashion ecosystem (Ref. 1). It has become synonymous with environmental well-being. However, its roots dive deeper in various directions like economy and livelihood, choice of lifestyles or even industrial practices with its manufacturing methods (Pena, Sustainability and the fashion industry: conceptualizing nature and traceability, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). To be tagged as a sustainable brand, industries and entrepreneurs have created design strategies to prevent waste and create fashion goods. The use of methods like cannibalization, upcycling and recycling, reconditioning and refurbishing techniques to reuse existing fashion products, which may be termed “second-life fashion” (SLF) (Almeida, Exploring consumers’ second-hand apparel consumption intention and main influential factors. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2020). The purpose of the paper is to identify if there are trends in the context of social-cultural acceptance of such products and the strategies that nudges them (McNeill and Venter in Int J Consum Stud 43:368–378, 2019; Kim et al. in J Retail Consum Serv 60:102457, 2021). The methodology adapted, to understand the consumer mindset, is based on secondary research and primary surveys. The sample chosen is from the metropolitan cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, bearing in mind that India is diverse in tastes and acceptance across geographical zones. The choice of sampling is convenient in nature but only focused on working women over 30+ years old to ensure there is disposable income to cater to aspirational purchases and consumption. The study finds that consumers of metropolitan cities are moderately motivated toward acceptance, and they even appreciate the concept of sustainability. The study also focuses on the opportunities that could be created for SLF products. It is concluded with an understanding of sustainability and environmental consciousness is one of the driving trend changes in the fashion ecosystem postpandemic.