In 2023, Primark launched an ambitious training programme to upskill all the brand’s product colleagues in the basic principles of a circular economy for fashion in what was recognised by those within the business as its ‘Foundation’ phase devised simply to educate.
One year on and the high street fashion retailer is ready to take things to the next level and take the necessary towards it needs to reach its ambition of making its clothing more recyclable by 2027. Which is why the team is ready to not only adopt but adapt those learned principles of circular design and tailor them to its vast clothing catalogue.
In partnership with the Circular Textiles Foundation, Primark will now deliver an advanced training programme for its Design and Product teams as it covers areas of advanced circular design with recyclability at its centre.
This new training will engage Primark’s Design and Product teams – as well as selected suppliers – who will review the company’s clothing category by category to understand how circularity principles can be applied throughout.
It’s hoped that through this programme, product and design colleagues within Primark will learn how to apply the core principles of circular design to different product categories, adapting Primark’s approach based on the unique characteristics of each product type. Meanwhile, the Circular Textiles Foundation will host a series of workshops to help put the theory of a circular design into practice by showcasing how colleagues can embed the principles into their day-to-day.
Led by Primark’s head of circularity, Nicholas Lambert (who joined Products of Change to talk on Primark’s sustainability strategy at the POC Conference last year) and the Circular Textiles Foundation’s Tim Cross, the first in-person ‘Design for Recyclability’ session was held in Dublin last month.
“This is the next step for us at Primark to really start embedding circular design principles into the core of how we design and make our products,” said Nicholas. “Our teams are really looking forward to honing their skills and understanding where we can elevate our designs through this bespoke new training.
“We want to keep pushing our in-house designers and suppliers to create fun and innovative ways to elevate clothes beyond what our customers may traditionally expect from us.”
Over the past two years, the retailer ha embedded circular design principles into some of its clothing collections and last year launched its first collection of 35 pieces across menswear, womenswear, and kidswear made in line with the Primark Circular Products Standard. Following this, the brand has continued to scale its ambition and last month unveiled a new collaborative effort with the Walt Disney Company on a Lion King 30th anniversary clothing collection designed with the future in mind.
Tim Cross, founder of Circular Textiles Foundation, said: “Sharing knowledge is crucial to tackling the industry’s issues at pace and scale and this where the Circular Textiles Foundation comes in. We are taking designing for recyclability mainstream, making it accessible and available to all.
“We hope that by working with Primark, we will take a step closer to encouraging industry-wide change. We look forward to Primark engaging with us on this journey and the opportunities for progress.”
