International fashion retailer, Primark plans to expand the volume of its sustainably sourced clothes in categories such as denim and jersey this year. The company also aims to embed product guidelines on circularity by training colleagues and suppliers. Over the past 12 months, 3 per cent of clothes sold by Primark were circular by design as they met the criteria set out in Primark’s Circular Product Standard, including items in the Rita Ora and Disney’s The Lion King ranges.
Around 66 per cent of the clothes sold by Primark, over the last 12 months, were made from sustainably sourced materials, as per the brand’s third annual Sustainability and Ethics Progress Report. The company is also embedding sustainability commitments by introducing recyclable clothes to tackle textile waste.
To make sustainable clothes more affordable, Primark has launched a Durability Framework that aims to train fashion retailers to help consumers get more out of their clothes. The program is supported by research from environmental charity Hubbub and the University of Leeds (UOL) School of Design.
One of the key achievements for Primark during the last 12 months was the lowering of carbon emissions across its value chain. The company aims to halve carbon emissions across its value chain by 2030. In 2024, it reduced Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions by 21 per cent, compared to 2023, and by 52 per cent as against the 2019 baseline. It achieved this by introducing energy efficiency measures in its stores and procuring renewable and low-carbon electricity. This year, Primark has also been able to reduce total carbon emissions across its value chain by 1.9 per cent since its 2019 baseline year and an 11.6 per cent decrease since last year. The retailer expects this reduction to fluctuate in the short-term as the company expands.
As the company mostly uses cotton to make its clothes, it plans to develop the Primark Cotton Project (formerly the Primark Sustainable Cotton Program) besides training cotton farmers on more regenerative agricultural practices. So far, the company has trained 3,000 farmers to use biological alternatives to chemical pesticides, and introduce cover crops that protect soil and create new revenue streams. Primark has also developed a roadmap to 2030 to drive further uptake of regenerative agriculture within the Primark Cotton Project. The company aims to continue learning as it gathers insights and data from across the Primark business, and forge meaningful collaborations across the industry to achieve its 2030 ambitions, says Lynne Walker, Director.
