Two years on from the launch of its sustainability strategy, Primark Cares, the fashion brand has increased its clothing range to contain recycled or more sustainably sourced materials to 55% – up from 45% last year.
Putting its commitment to make all clothing from recycled and more sustainable sourced materials by 2030 ‘well on track’, its campaign has been supported this year by the launch of a new circular product collection, with over three million units of circular clothing sold.
The retailer’s second Sustainability and Ethics Progress Report has been released this week, showing how over the past 12 months, Primark has scaled up pilot programmes and projects, embedding early learning on where it can have the most impact to drive change.
One example is cotton, Primark’s most used fibre in its clothing. This year, 46% of cotton sold contained cotton that was either organic, recycled, or coursed form the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP), up from 40% last year.
PSCP celebrates a decade in operation this year and is now the largest programme of its kind for a single fashion retailer. The programme is now run in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, with a pilot launched in Turkey this year.
Primark has also rolled out a traceability and compliance platform, TrusTrace, to help gather data from the full supply chain of products, from raw materials to finished product. With this information, Primark will be able to better understand and manage its supply chain.
Another significant milestone this year was Primark’s target of halving carbon emissions across its value chain by 2030 – being assessed and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. With the majority of carbon emissions arising from its supply chain, Primark has been focusing on supporting suppliers to understand the opportunity to switch to renewable energy sources and has scaled up its energy efficiency programme across 57 factories in Bangladesh, China, and Cambodia. It has also appointed regional carbon leads to support suppliers and factories locally.
Within its own operations, Primark has been focussing on reducing energy usage in its stores and using more renewable energy. 70% of Primark stores are now powered by renewable or low-carbon electricity and 141 stores have made the switch to energy-efficient lighting.
Lynne Walker, director of Primark Cares, said: “Primark Cares is driving everyone in Primark to change. Year two was about gaining momentum: scaling and embedding the principles, programmes and processes that will take us to 2030 and beyond, while acknowledging the learnings we face along the way.
“We continue to work with our partners and suppliers to drive change, and we’ve learnt more than ever how collaboration is crucial for delivery of our Primark Cares commitments. We’ve also been focused on upskilling and training our colleagues, who are an integral part of how we make change happen in our business.
“Another critical element is how we can inspire and educate our customers and bring them with us on our change journey. This includes being more transparent about where and how our clothes are made, the changes we are making and what it means for them, and the issues an what role the fashion industry and they, as customers, can play in this change.”
