Primark Cares – how real change looks

From the 2021 Annual Report

Product: Giving clothing a longer life

We will change the way we make our clothes to ensure they are recyclable by design by 2027 and, by 2030, made from recycled fibres or more sustainably sourced materials. We will also put all items through more rigorous testing to make sure our clothing is made to last.

Planet: Protecting life on the planet

We have committed to halving carbon emissions across our entire value chain by 2030. Additionally, we will eliminate single-use plastics and all non-clothing waste by 2027 and will work with cotton farmers to deliver better soil health, biodiversity and water quality in the regions where their cotton is grown.

People: Enhancing the lives of the people who make our clothes

We will go further to improve the lives of people in our supply chain by 2030, pursuing a living wage for all, providing access to social protection and financial education and services. We will also increase opportunities for women through skills development and widen access to physical and mental health support.

We know our scale means we can have a real impact with every change we make. We want to get this right and will be sharing more on our strategy in the coming months. At Primark, we have always been about making great fashion affordable for everyone. Now we are doing the same for more sustainable fashion, without compromising on the low prices for which we are famous. 

More sustainable products: continuing to innovate

Our Primark Cares label, denoting products made with recycled fibres or more sustainably sourced materials, can now be found on a quarter of all the clothes we sell. We have grown this by almost 10 percentage points in just a year – growth that is set to continue in the coming months and years as we work towards becoming a more sustainable business.

Products carrying the Primark Cares label include jeans made using cotton grown by farmers trained through our Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme, as well as items made using recycled materials across our women’s, men’s, kidswear  and home departments. Customers can now buy swimwear, activewear, shoes, pyjamas, lingerie, denim, duvets and much more, all made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials.

We added a series of exciting new ranges to our Primark Cares label during the last financial year, developed in partnership with some of the most innovative leaders in more sustainable fashion. Highlights include:

• our Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold jeans, Primark’s most sustainably made jeans yet. Low on environmental impact but big on style, these 100% organic cotton mom jeans, available in two styles, are fully recyclable and independently certified as a safe, more sustainable product, with a lower impact on people and the planet. We are incredibly proud of the Gold status, which gives our customers the confidence that what they are buying is responsibly sourced;
  
  
• our new sustainable women’s leisurewear collection, launched in May and produced in partnership with Recover, the recycled cotton innovator. Each item in this eight-piece collection of classic and on-trend leisurewear is made using between 15% and 25% recycled cotton. The remainder comprises a mix of materials including sustainable cotton from our Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme, organic cotton and polyester; and
  
  
• our first fashion and home collection made using natural dyes from plant and food waste, in partnership with Archroma, the global specialty chemical company. The range uses waste generated by the food and plant industry to create a selection of beautiful, earthy fabric dyes that are both neutral and natural. Made using organic cotton and cotton from the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme, the 22-piece collection will span menswear, womenswear, kidswear, nightwear and homeware.

Working in partnership with others to achieve our goals

Making our business more sustainable involves collaboration between teams right across Primark, from ethical trade to sourcing; from buying and merchandising to the dedicated Primark Cares team itself. But we know that real change is only possible when we work with others across and beyond our industry. For many years we have worked with multiple partners, including charities, international development organisations, government agencies and recycling companies. Here are three of the key partnerships we forged or extended in the last year:
 

• in October 2020 we joined the United Nations’ Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, supporting its net zero ambition and committing to a 30% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In joining the Charter, we have committed to tackling emissions from across our entire value chain. This includes Scope 3 emissions from outside our own operations, which make up the vast majority of our carbon footprint;
  
  
• in May 2021 we signed up to the Textiles 2030 initiative, a new sustainable textiles action plan led by the charity WRAP and supported by the UK Government. This important initiative aims to accelerate the fashion and textile industry’s move toward circularity over the next decade, making practical interventions to significantly reduce the environmental impact of UK clothing and home fabrics. We will be reporting annually on our progress; and
  
  
• in July 2021 we were delighted to extend our relationship with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation by becoming a network partner, having first joined the Foundation’s ‘Make Fashion Circular’ initiative in 2018. Over the next three years, we will work with other leading organisations from across the world to accelerate the transition toward a circular economy.

Note: This page makes reference to the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP). Since 1 October 2024, the PSCP has been renamed the Primark Cotton Project.