primark csr case study

Case study on Primark sustainability, ethics, supply chain.

• Introduction
• Supply Chain
• Environment

Are Primark's sustainability efforts enough to make a difference?

Primark sustainability update 2022-2023.

A lot has changed in the six-plus years since the publication of our case study, looking at Primark's stance on sustainability and ethics. Although Primark had programs focusing on sustainability, environmental issues, and social practices, it needed a clear strategy to shift its business model at the time. As one of the largest fashion retailers in Europe, implementing any change across its policies and procedures is a slow process. However, without tangible goals, Primark's broader aim of providing affordable and responsible fashion for all while driving positive change within the fashion industry felt more akin to a pipe dream than a reality.

But that started to shift in 2021 when Primark launched Primark Cares, its corporate sustainability strategy. Focused on changing how it produces and sources its products, the strategy includes nine commitments designed to help the retailer become a more sustainable and circular business. Divided into three key focus areas, people, planet, and product, the retailer has set open and measurable targets to help hold itself accountable (some have been approved of by the Science Based Targets Initiative). Primark has also released two Sustainability and Ethics Progress Reports to date, detailing the retailer's progress on reaching its goals and any hurdles or setbacks they've faced.

Following our 2017 case study, we take a closer look at Primark's current sustainability strategy, what has changed within the value retailer's business model, and if it's putting its money where its mouth is.

Over the years, Primark has taken steps to make its products more sustainable. The retailer has committed to using only recycled or sustainably sourced materials for all its clothing by 2030, producing clothing that is recyclable by design by 2027, and ensuring all clothing is more durable by 2025. Primark also aims to only use sustainably sourced cotton by 2027, transitioning away from single-use "virgin fibers."

Primark has begun producing its entry-price t-shirts with sustainably sourced cotton. According to its 2022/2023 progress report, 55 percent of its clothing sold contained recycled or sustainably sourced materials, and 46 percent of cotton clothing units were from sustainable sources. Currently, 45 percent of Primark's products feature the Primark Cares label.

Primark also introduced its new Circular Product Standard and began implementing circular design training for its colleagues. This new framework is based on work from the retailer's partner, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and in consultation with climate action NGO WRAP. Its first circular product range, launched in April 2023, included a 35-piece collection designed for longevity and with minimal fashion waste, with over three million units sold. The range was a success, but it remains to be seen how the retailer will continue to make this its new standard.

Addressing durability, Primark developed an enhanced durability wash standard, covering 39 percent of all clothing. 57 percent of its denim passed the 30-wash standard, a notable step to ensuring its products last longer. Primark also hosted 100 clothing repair workshops across the UK, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, educating 1,600 customers on extending garment life through free online and in-store demonstrations. While this initiative is a good basis, how Primark aims to implement these workshops across all its markets remains to be determined.

Lastly, to further strengthen its product transparency, Primark rolled out a traceability and compliance platform with TrusTrace in 2023 to bring together data from the full supply chain of products – from raw materials to finished products – so it can better understand and manage its supply chain.

Primark notes that it is hard at work to reduce its impact on the environment. As a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and ZDHC, it has introduced initiatives to reduce waste and packaging using paper bags since 2002. Aiming to eliminate all single-use plastics by 2027, Primark has removed over 1 billion units since 2019. Primark has also adopted the ZDHC Wastewater guidelines and requests that its suppliers adhere to the same parameters for wastewater discharge. Among some of its strategies to cut down on its waste, Primark aims to use cardboard display hangers in stores and is working with suppliers to increase the recycled materials content in its packaging, aiming to have 100 percent recycled materials for all its hangers.

However, the value retailer recognizes it needs to do more than minimize waste, so one of Primark's main goals regarding its impact on the planet was to halve its carbon emissions across its value chain in 2030. Working with all their suppliers to reach this goal, which was validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative, Primark plans to transition to 100 percent renewable by 2030 to help reach its goal. The value retailer is supporting suppliers in switching to renewable energy sources, scaling up energy efficiency programs across 57 factories in Bangladesh, China, and Cambodia over the last year. This effort is further strengthened with the appointment of regional carbon leads to support suppliers and factories locally.

In addition, 70 percent of its stores are now powered by renewable or low-carbon electricity, and 141 stores have switched to energy-efficient lighting. According to its 2022/2023 progress report, Primark's carbon footprint increased by 2.6 percent over the year. Still, the retailer managed to drive a 22 percent decrease in the carbon emissions of its direct operations due to the initiatives outlined above. The retailer remains cautiously optimistic about reaching its 2030 goal, as it acknowledges it will take several years to drive the impact it wants.

In its 2022/2023 progress report, Primark noted that it developed a biodiversity monitoring framework and began piloting the methodology in selected farms at its Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP). Working with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, other stakeholders, and companies, the framework includes improved measurement of biodiversity, soil, and water impacts.

Primark also marked 10 Years of its PSCP, successfully training 299,388 farmers through the program, surpassing its target of 275,000 farmers by the end of 2023. As the value retailer is a high-cotton business with 40 percent of its products made from cotton, sustainable fibers like cotton are key to achieving its goals. Using more sustainable fibers to produce its clothing means less water usage, more natural pesticides, and fewer chemical fertilizers while moving towards regenerative agriculture.

Primark has implemented various programs and guidelines to enhance the well-being of its garment factory workers and direct employees. Although it doesn't own its supply chain, the retailer is increasingly responsible for its approx 750,000 factory workers. Primark established an ethical trade and environmental sustainability team, comprising 130 members across 12 key sourcing markets, to effectively evaluate and address their needs. Working closely with locals on the ground to gain a deeper understanding of customs, cultures, and contexts, the value retailer is also aware that most of its garment workers are female.

Primark is dedicated to promoting gender equality and addressing the challenges of unpaid care work for women. The retailer has researched the impact of 'the Double Day' and collaborated with international NGO Women Win in late 2022 to explore ways to alleviate these barriers. Its Sudokkho Skills Programme, focusing on technical and leadership training for female sewing operators, has been implemented in 17 factories with 29,224 female workers, comprising 18 percent of female workers in Primark's Bangladesh supply chain. Additionally, as of July 2023, Primark initiated three skills development initiatives across 29 factories, benefiting 44,264 female workers, representing 14 percent of its female workforce in the supply chain.

In its 2022/2023 progress report, Primark also noted that its Support for My Life India program had been run in seven factories, educating over 4,000 vulnerable workers to understand their rights better. The value retailer also implemented the Fair Labor Association's Fair Compensation Toolkit to collect wage data in factories across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, and Turkey to see how workers are compensated.

Primark is also actively working to enhance its direct workers' well-being and career prospects through several initiatives. The value retailer conducts bi-annual surveys to gather feedback, gaining insights from over 50,000 colleagues in 2022/2023 to understand and improve their experience at Primark. The retailer aims to strengthen ties with its workers by demonstrating its commitment to listening to its employees and making changes based on their input. Additionally, Primark aims to show its dedication to inclusivity and equality by donating 150,000 pounds to ILGA World, supporting global efforts to promote equality for all LGBTQI+ individuals.

This contribution reflects Primark's recognition of the diverse identities within its workforce and its broader community. Furthermore, the retailer established a three-year partnership with WorkEqual, focusing on removing career progression barriers for women in Ireland, where the retailer first started under the name Penney's. This initiative underscores Primark's commitment to gender equality and the professional development of its female employees, aligning with broader goals of creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace.

Primark has made significant strides towards sustainability and ethical practices in recent years. The launch of Primark Cares in 2021 marked a pivotal shift in the company's approach, setting clear, measurable goals and demonstrating progress through their Sustainability and Ethics Progress Reports. With commitments to using sustainable materials, enhancing product durability, and reducing its environmental impact, Primark is actively working towards its goal of affordable and responsible fashion. The retailer's initiatives in worker welfare and community support further underline its commitment to a holistic approach to sustainability and ethical manufacturing.

However, as Primark progresses on this path, it faces the critical challenge of ensuring its claims and practices are transparent and verifiable. The recent lawsuit in the Netherlands over allegations of greenwashing in October 2023 underscores the importance of vigilance against overstating environmental credentials. As consumers and regulators increasingly scrutinize sustainability claims, Primark must maintain the integrity of its sustainability journey. This involves not only adhering to its set targets but also ensuring that its marketing and communications accurately reflect its on-the-ground practices. As Primark continues to change its business, balancing ambitious sustainability goals with transparent and honest reporting will likely be the key to its ongoing success.

• Total approx workers in tier 1 (JUST ONE) factories supplying Primark 631,036 and 76,000 colleagues in stores (to September 2023)
• 22 Sourcing markets
• 2,3602 Number of ethical trade social audits
• 40 External partnerships supporting workers in Primarks supply chain
• 34 Social impact programs supporting workers in Primarks supply chain
• 442 stores in 16 countries, Primark expects to reach 530 stores by the end of 2026.

Update: 31 January 2024 by Vivian Hendriksz

Primark, the Irish fashion retailer owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), is seen as one biggest fashion retail success stories of the past decade. Best known for its low price and high value offering, "Amazing fashion, amazing prices", the high street staple has extended its reach across Europe and overseas into the United States. However, in spite of its retail success, Primark has been struggling to overcome the consumer’s pre-fixed notion that fast-fashion is not sustainable, and certainly not ethically made.

Following the tragic collapse of Rana Plaza , the most deadly accident in the history of the garment industry, more and more people begun to question how a t-shirt costing as little as 2 pounds could ever be responsibly made. On April 24, 2013 a building housing five garment factories which manufactured products for approximately 28 brands, collapsed in near Dhaka, Bangladesh, claiming the lives of 1,138 workers and injuring more than 2,000 individuals. The tragedy was not only seen as a wake up call for the international fashion industry to band together and protect those most vulnerable in their supply chains - it was also a immediate call to action for Primark, who sourced from New Waves Bottoms, a supplier in Rana Plaza, to take a closer look at its ethics and CSR, to see where it could improve.

Primark was among the first retailers to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, initiated by the IndustriALL and UNI Global Union. It was also one of the first to ensure the factory victims and families affected by the collapse receive financial support and food aid immediately following the disaster. The value retailer pledged to give both short and long-term financial compensation to those affected by the factory collapse and has paid a total of 14 million dollars to date - 11 million of which has gone to workers and families employed by its supplier, New Waves Bottom. Since then Primark has continued to work with local partners and non-profit organisations to ensure any funds or support they gave to workers and their families would be secure by offering financial advice and guidance. In addition, the Irish retailer launched the ‘Pashe Achi Project’ to ensure compensation recipients retain access to their financial compensation and understand their rights.

What steps Primark has taken to become more responsible following Rana Plaza

Lastly, Primark also tighten its programme of structural surveys in Bangladesh to assess the structural integrity of the factories from which it sources from. At the moment Primark has a team of over 80 experts dedicated to sustainability, ethical fashion and worker training as part of their Ethical Trade Team. These teams based in its nine key sourcing locations, such as China, India, Bangladesh and Turkey, act as the retailer's "eyes and ears on the ground," according to Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. Primark regularly visits factories where it holds a ‘lead’ role in respect to the Accord and is in frequent contact with all other factories which it supplies from. But Primark’s ethical and sustainable initiatives go much further than Rana Plaza.

Unlike fast-fashion competitors, such as H&M, who has been extremely open in communicating their sustainable initiatives to the public through campaigns such as ‘Close the Loop’, Primark has remained relatively quiet on what it does in terms of sustainability, ethics, and labour rights. Until recently that is. Following the expansion of its Sustainable Cotton Programme, which sees Primark working with CottonConnect and the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) to support over 11,000 female cotton farmers in India, as well as increasing consumer interest in Primark’s own sustainable and ethical practices, Primark has decided to become more vocal concerning its commitments to producing responsible fashion.

“Historically when we did not say anything, people believed that we were not being sustainable at all, when we were just trying to find our comfort level in communicating this,” explains Stewart. “It’s not something new, it’s business as usual and we have been doing it for a very long time. But now our customers are asking us about it, so we are talking about it more...especially now that our customers are getting older, they want to know more.” Over the years Primark has implemented a series of strategies and initiatives which vary from improving the livelihoods of its garment workers, to reducing its carbon footprint as well its chemical usage, water usage and waste output, to using more sustainable materials.

“Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food and clothing that is great value for money. In doing these things well we know we contribute to making millions of people's lives better," says George Weston, Chief Executive Officer of Associated British Foods, parent company of Primark in ABF 2016 Corporate Responsibility Update. “However, our decentralised structure, combined with the wide range of our activities, means it is not straightforward for people outside the Company to assess the difference we make to society. That is why we have begun to explore how we can better measure what we do so that we might provide more credible and tangible evidence of our impact.”

But is Primark doing enough? FashionUnited shares its findings in its first long-form story looking into the value retailer’s sustainability and ethical initiatives.

About Primark

• Primark is a major retail group. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the name Penney’s.
• It operates stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, Italy and the US, directly employing 68,000 people.
• As of FY2016 it operated 325 stores in 11 countries - Primark does not have an online store.
• Primark offers customers quality, up-to-the-minute fashion at value-for-money prices.
• Primark’s expansive product range includes womenswear, lingerie, childrenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, beauty, hosiery and homeware.
• Primark’s buying and merchandising teams in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) and Reading (UK) travel internationally to source and buy fashion items that best reflect each season’s key fashion trends.

Visual Credits

• Infographic timeline Primark: FashionUnited
• Rana Plaza disaster photo: AFP. Credit: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury / ANADOLU AGENCY
• Podcast: Primark Offers Compensation to Dhaka Factory Victims. Credit: PRI’s The World
• Video: PRIMARK | Rana Plaza: Kushi Mela. Credit: Primark
• Video: Primark - There is nothing like us on the high street. Credit: ABF plc
• Photo: Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. Credit: Primark.
• Milan, Italy Primark store photo. Credit: Primark.
• Milan, Italy Primark in-store photo. Credit: Primark.

What impact does Primark’s Code of Conduct really have?

Even before the Rana Plaza factory collapse, one of Primark’s main points of focus looked to improve safety standards and worker wellbeing for all its employees around the world. Primark operates using a common set of global standards in all its sourcing hubs, known as its Code of Conduct 2 . This set of guiding principles is based on the internationally recognised labour standards from the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 3 and the ETI’s Base Code. Primark’s Code of Conduct lays out the core principles their suppliers and their factories must adhere to when it comes to working conditions, such as working hours, fair wages and workers’ rights in order to do business with them. In addition, Primark also works with the ILO Better Work Programme 4 in countries such as Vietnam, which aims to help factories meet and uphold international working standards. But just how reliable is Primark’s Code of Conduct?

“Almost all companies have a Code of Conduct, it is just a formality” Tara Scally, Campaign Coordinator, Clean Clothes Campaign

“Primark’s Code is much in line with Fair Wear Foundation Code of Labour Practices,” points out Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer at the Fair Wear Foundation 5 (FWF). Primark shares a number of core principles within its Code of Conduct with the Fair Wear Foundation Code. For example, each Code states employment must be freely chosen, no child labour, and the freedom to form and join trade unions - all standards derived from the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights 6 .

However, although Primark’s Code of Conduct remains an internationally recognised code of labour conduct, ensuring all its eight principles are consistently upheld at all of its suppliers around the world is another issue in its own right. “Almost all companies have a Code of Conduct, it is just a formality,” counters Tara Scally, Campaign Coordinator for the Dutch branch of the Clean Clothes Campaign 7 (CCC). “This written down reality says nothing about what is really happening within the supply chain. More transparency is needed to verify if the claims being made in Code of Conducts are really true.”

Primark’s approach to due diligence and factory audits

For example in order to ensure that all garment workers understand Primark’s Code of Conduct, which can be difficult in countries such as Bangladesh where many workers are illiterate, Primark has developed posters together with local charities. These posters depict the separate principles of the Code of Conduct in a cartoon-style images which can easily be understood by all workers. Primark also consulted with workers to ensure the posters were displayed in the best possible areas throughout the factories for maximum impact. “We are trying to look collaboratively as to what best practice looks like to build a framework to offer suppliers a consistent message on how this is the standard, and what implementation looks like. Because if there is no support on the systematic implementation of such initiatives, then it makes all the more challenging for suppliers,” says Stewart. “What we see on the social side, is that everyone has very similar Codes of Conduct, but various degrees of implementation - which makes it harder for everyone.”

“[Primark’s] in-house teams delivered over 11,000 hours of supplier training in China, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan” Associated British Foods, Parent Company of Primark, Corporate Responsibility 2016 Report

The value retailer makes sure each supplier it works with has a full formal audit once a year, which is carried out by Primark’s own team or approved external auditors. These audits, which can be announced before hand or not, include confidential worker interviews. This is of vital importance in countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan where women make up 80 percent of the workforce. Female garment workers often face numerous issues such as sexual harassment, threats of violence and prejudice within the workplace. In a factory setting, where the management team usually male dominated, female workers can be pressured to work overtime without pay to reach production targets, or denied the right to maternity or sick leave. Without confidential worker interviews, many of these workers who fear losing their jobs - usually their only means of an income - may never share their real working experience with suppliers clients.

However, some worry that confidential worker interviews and audits are not enough to protect vulnerable garment workers. “Primark should focus on building a solid, long-term relationship with their suppliers based on trust; ensuring labour unions are allowed within the factories they source from and are protected enough so they can do their work freely without threats, or harassment,” notes Scally. “Strong union representation can bring labour violations to light. But very often union members are threatened or fired for the work they do. Brands like Primark should use their power to make sure union members are protected.” Scally also encourages Primark to join a multi-stakeholder initiative, like FWF, who can verify what is really happening in the supply chain. “Off-site worker interviews by trusted organizations will more likely reveal the truth than company organized visits.”

However Primark does not tackle it’s factory audits alone. It’s own in-house teams are supported by independent, third-party auditing companies, which are said to be “critical” to ensuring Primark upholds its monitoring standards. “We pay for all our audits ourselves as well,” adds Stewart. “Our reason for doing so is to control and retain the integrity of them.” Usually suppliers contact an external party of their own choosing when conducting a factory audit. By paying for their own audit Primark is able to ensure the integrity of the audit is not influenced by any external factors and gain a clear picture of actual working conditions.

How transparent is Primark’s supply chain?

Unlike some fashion retailers, Primark does not publicly share its audit reports, which raises numerous questions on what exactly Primark is doing to ensure the rights of its garment workers are protected. Fashion supply chains tend to be very long and complex, involving thousands of workers across the board. As Primark does not directly own any of the factories or suppliers it works with, an overall lack of transparency concerning their audit reports can make it hard to ensure their core working principles are constantly being maintained. “Unfortunately, Primark does not enclose their supplier list which makes it really hard to verify if what they communicate about their supply chain is actually true,” continues Scally. “On their website, under ‘Our Ethics,’ 8 Primark claims that all factories are inspected and audited. But the inspection reports are not made public, so it is impossible to verify if these inspections are really taking place; what is monitored; what problems are found and what corrective actions come out of these audits.”

“Being honest about the issues and problems and the steps brands are taking to improve labour conditions, is key,” adds Schuurman. “Our members have to share that in yearly public reports, and we assess their performance, which is also published. Primark is part of the Better Work programme and a full member of ETI - all positive initiatives which can contribute to better labour conditions. From what I’ve seen is they are grading their factories based on their own audits. It would be interesting to see how they followed up on the audit findings.”

“It is impossible for us to know the full scope of its audit programme or how frequently individual factories are audited,” adds Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 9 .“The brand does state that all its suppliers must comply with its Code of Conduct, and are audited before any orders are placed.” Primark maintains it keeps its audit reports finding private to maintain the “authenticity” of their results - not even the factories and suppliers audited are given full access to Primark’s audit reports. Instead, they receive external feedback from Primark and a checklist of areas they may need to improve on going forward. “That way they know what to focus on and we can protect certain parts, such as the confidentiality interviews,” explains Stewart. “I think that this is something we made a decision on very early on and it gives us the confidence that the audit paints a clear picture of what is going on in that factory at that point in time.”

For example, if an audit finds that factory workers are working more than the allowed overtime per week, Primark will work together with the factory managers to create a more flexible schedule, giving workers less overtime. Primark will then follow up with the factory in question at a later date, either through a pre-announced check or a spot-check, to ensure the issues have been handled effectively. “We try to be proactive and helpful partners when it comes to audits,” points out Stewart. “Some factories need help improving certain areas, so we make sure we work together with them by explaining the implications and solutions on the audit checklist.” Primark also runs an online supplier management system which offers training programmes on how suppliers can improve their working standards.

“Transparency is essential for accountability and credibility” Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer, Fair Wear Foundation

But the lack of transparency Primark has concerning its supply chain and workers is still problematic for many organisations. “Transparency is essential for accountability and credibility,” counters Schuurman. “Yet it is also a challenge for garment and textile companies, who consider their competitive advantage to lie partially in their unique supply chain decisions – for example, where they are placing orders, prices paid and forecasting. Our experience is that transparency often can be among the most difficult requirements for companies that want to do good. However, some pioneering companies, like Filippa K and Nudie Jeans are beginning to break this mould and commonly report their factory lists, audit outcomes, and other data. But there is still a lot to do in this regard.”

One of the reasons Primark does not intend to publicly share the names of all their suppliers is precisely because of their competitive edge. “We’ve always said that we have worked very hard with our suppliers,” notes Stewart. “We currently feel that information is competitive intel we do not want to share. But we do share our supplier information with other partners we are in collaboration with, for example with the Bangladesh Accord 10 . By sharing our supplier base information it enables the Accord to map all the factories that everyone is using in the region as effectively as possible. So we are sharing that information - we are just not making it public. We do share information on which countries we are sourcing from with the public, but not specific factories.”

Primark’s battle against modern day slavery in its supply chains

Rather than cutting ties with suppliers who do employ vulnerable refugees, Primark works with suppliers and local partners to help them get papers for legal employment and proper payment. NGOs and trade organisations agree that this, as well as working with trade unions, is key for any fashion retailer in tackling cases of forced labour in developing countries. “Building a solid, long-term relationship with their suppliers based on trust; paying their supplier a fair price for their products; ensuring labour unions are allowed within the factories they source from and are protected enough so they can do their work freely without being harassed are all key to tackling forced labour in the supply chain,” says Scally. “Strong union representation can bring labour violations to light. But very often union members are threatened or fired for the work they do. Garment brands should use their power to make sure union members are protected.”

“As a business we care about the impact. For us it’s about making sure that the people who touch the supply chain are looked after” Katharine Stewart, Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability, Primark

Primark does what it can do to help workers employed without the proper legal papers, but in the case of undisclosed sub-contracting, where approved suppliers outsource production to unapproved factories which use methods of forced labour, the value retailer takes decisive action, as it takes any breaches “extremely seriously.” Over the years Primark has ensured that they work with local organisations in all of its sourcing locations in order to create a support net for any employment challenges that may occur, according to Stewart. For example, in India, Primark is working together with local partners like the Association for Stimulating Know How 11 (ASK) in one of its main suppliers, Jeyavishnu Mill, to improve its recruitment process. “As a business we care about the impact. For us it’s about making sure that the people who touch the supply chain, whether it’s the workers or the communities or the environment we operate in, are looked after.”

However, despite of all its initiatives aimed at modern slavery issues, Primark is still regularly accused of sourcing from sweatshops and forced labour camps. For example, back in 2014 and 2015 British shoppers are said to have found letters and hand stitched labels in garments pleading for help, which aimed to raise awareness for the terrible conditions workers were apparently forced to endure. After reaching out to the shoppers who found these letters and labels and conducting its own research, Primark claimed the distress calls were all part of an elaborate hoax looking to sully its name.

In addition, Primark failed to score very high in the first ‘Corporate Human Rights Benchmark’ 12 , the first public ranking of corporate human rights performance. Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) is listed in the 20-29 percent band range, together with the likes of Next, Kering and TJX Companies. The ranking awarded Primark points for having appropriate policies in place against excessive overtime, forced labour and child labour, but did not award any points to Primark later on, as they did not take sufficient action against alleged impacts of these issues. According to the ranking, the large majority of the low performing companies , which includes ABF, are “falling overwhelmingly behind, with all the dangers for human rights abuse of workers and communities that this implies.”

But these rankings have not discouraged Primark from looking for new ways to improve the wellbeing of its garment workers in developing markets. In early 2016, the retailer started a new partnership with the Department for International Development 13 (DFID), which sees the two combining their presence, networks and expertise to boost the overall wellbeing of their workers in five of the retailer’s key markets - Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, Ethiopia and India. A key part of the programme focuses on sharing lessons Primark and DFID learnt following the Rana Plaza incident, including the retailer’s initiatives with local partners to provide both long-term and short-term aid. “At Primark, we are committed to ensuring that the people who make our products work in good conditions, are treated properly and paid a fair wage,” says Paul Lister, Head of Primark’s Ethical Trading Team in a statement. “We know that as well as ensuring worker rights are protected within the factories we work with, we can positively impact lives outside of the factory too. Whether it’s financial literacy, health education or helping workers understand their rights, we’ve seen that simple initiatives with local partners can make a huge difference.”

• The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs which promotes respect for workers' rights across the globe.
• Primark’s Code of Conduct incorporates the United Nations Charter, Chapter IX, article 55 and all suppliers of products to Primark must agree to follow the Code of Conduct.
• International Labour Organization (ILO) brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of 187 member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
• The Better Work Programme is a partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)which aims to improve labour standards and competitiveness in global supply chains.
• The Fair Wear Foundation works with brands, factories, trade unions, NGOs and sometimes governments to verify and improve workplace conditions in 11 production countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. FWF keeps track of the improvements made by the companies it works with.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Created by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.
• Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) is a global alliance of trade unions and NGOs. The CCC works together with numerous partners across the world to improve working conditions and the empowerment of workers in the textile and apparel industry.
• Primark’s Ethics page .
• Project JUST is an open platform dedicated to informing and empowering consumers have the power to transform the fashion industry to an ethical and sustainable one with each purchase.
• The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the Accord) is a five year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry.
• Association for Stimulating Know How (ASK) is a capacity building, self-supporting, voluntary organisation working nation-wide across India, as well as Internationally to promote the best interests of marginalized groups and societies.
• The 2017 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assesses 98 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world on 100 human rights indicators.
• Department for International Development leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty, tackling global challenges such as disease, mass migration and poverty.
• Infographics/visuals: FashionUnited
• Bangladesh posters: These posters were created in conjunction with workers, with support from SHEVA NARI O SHISHU KALLYAN KENDRA. Copyright Primark Stores LTD 2012.
• Photo: Workers sewing in Indian Garment Factory.
• Video: The garment industry in Bangladesh: Made in Bangladesh | Primark 2014. Credit: Primark

What Primark is doing to improve the lives & wages of its garment workers

At the moment Primark does not purchase any raw cotton directly from farmers, as it does not directly own any mills or factories. Nevertheless cotton, a natural fibre, makes up a large percentage of its apparel range, even though it remains a labour and resource intensive product. Although it is grown on large-scale industrial farms in certain regions, in most cases the cotton used to make textiles and apparel comes from small farms in low-income countries, such as India, China and Pakistan. In these regions a lot of the knowledge concerning the best practices for growing cotton, as well as the most environmental friendly tactics available to do so, tends to be rather limited. Which is why Primark decided to partner with agriculture experts, CottonConnect 1 , and the Self-Employed Women’s Association to launch the Sustainable Cotton pilot Programme in 2013.

“Cotton for us is a priority given the amount we use” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

“The reason we started our Sustainable Cotton Pilot programme four years ago is because cotton is one of the main fibres we use in our products, and we wanted to achieve greater visibility in our cotton supply chain to better understand how it works,” says Katherine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. “We wanted to develop a deeper understanding concerning the manufacturing processes behind cotton.” The programme was originally designed to introduce sustainable farming methods, improve cotton yields and increase the cotton farmers income. At the same time Primark decided to exclusively work with female cotton farmers in Gujarat, Northern India during the pilot because they realised many other cotton initiatives lacked gender focus. India currently ranks 130 out of 188 countries in the UN’s Gender Inequality Index, as gender equality is seen as one of the most pressing development challenges facing the country.

Primark’s sustainable cotton pilot has been applauded by numerous international organisations as it focused on the environmental impact of growing cotton, such as the farmers use of water, chemicals and their effects on soil and aimed to improve cotton production by using less water, less chemicals and less pesticides. “In short, we were looking to decrease the cotton farmers input costs, but increase yield of cotton and income and improve their overall lives and health,” continues Stewart. “I think that the results of the pilot in relationship to the impact they’ve had on the cotton farmers have been significant - they’ve just been phenomenal.”

• Average farmer profit increased 247 percent during its third year.
• Input costs were reduced by 19.2 percent on average,
• Use of chemical fertilisers were reduced by 40 percent,
• Use of chemical pesticides were reduced by 44 percent,
• Water usage was decreased by 10 percent.

“The reported results show that working with farmers at this level can have a number of positive impacts on yields, chemical and water use reduction and increased income,” says Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 2 . “Considering that the majority of Primark’s products are made from cotton, we would suggest the brand dramatically increase its initiatives in this area by supporting similar programmes to achieve 100 percent sustainably grown cotton.” In fact, the results of the cotton pilot programme were so successful they exceeded all Primark's expectations, which is why the value retailer has expanded the programme to support an additional 10,000 farmers in Gujarat over the next six years. Primark has already begun to train 5,000 new cotton farmers and plans to scale this up in time.

How Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Program is impacting the lives of female cotton farmers

“The reported results show that working with farmers at this level can have a number of positive impacts” Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST

However, this boost in income also brought on a new set of concerns for the female cotton farmers who participate in the pilot, as they were not used to managing a large cash flow. “So now we have implemented our Farmer Field School to help them manage their own income and run their own businesses.” By offering these female farmers advice and guidance on how they can best manage their income and oversee their cash flow, Primark aims to ensure the cotton workers become financially independent. For Stewart, the community impact of the programme and the knowledge the farmers have gained thanks to the programme has been the most rewarding to witness.

“It’s a ripple effect and quite incredible to see, because they may have a neighbour who grows cumin and now are able to share knowledge on which chemical or natural pesticides are best to use. For me, it’s really all about education. Because if you give someone an education, it stays with them and that’s sustainable.” She stressed that the cotton project focuses on giving farmers a hand up, not a hand down in the form of free seeds, or pesticides or equipment. In addition the Farmers Field School has made Primark realise how important education truly is for farmers and what impact it can have on their lives.

Primark has published the results of their sustainable cotton programme on their website, as well as personal stories from the farmers themselves, but Stewart admits the company is still learning on how to take what they have learned from the pilot all the way through to end production to bring it to scale. “It’s still early days, but it’s going very well...the whole process is a journey of understanding. But now that we have a formula that we know works, we can start to look at how we can do that in different locations.” For now Primark has chosen to localise their efforts in Northern India, but it has not ruled out expanding the programme to other countries. “One of our long-term goals is to source all of our cotton more sustainably,” says Stewart.

“[Sustainability] is not about little capsule collections. It is about sharing how we do it and then moving it to scale” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

However, Primark’s sustainable cotton programme is not its only initiative in place aimed at empowering and educating its female garment workers. For example, one initiative started by Primark together with Health Enables Returns 3 (HERHealth) and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) in China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar aims to educate female garment workers on their health needs and support them in learning. To date over 800 female workers have been coached and they in turn have taught more than 20,000 women.

Another programme that Primark has had in place since 2009, focuses on enriching the lives of its workers, and sees the value retailer working together with Social Awareness and Voluntary Education 4 (SAVE) to educate its workers in Southern India. The programme helps raise awareness on a wide range of topics, such as the importance of children's education, financial planning, general health and workers rights through the formation of worker education groups. In total 6,279 workers in 436 groups have been trained through the programme since 2009, which has impacted the lives of approximately 30,000 garment workers.

But how sustainable is Primark’s sourced cotton?

In addition, the fashion retailer received the worst score on the Ethical Consumer 5 rating, an independent public consumer rating, for its cotton supply chain. Primark previously signed the Responsible Sourcing Network’s Cotton Pledge 6 , and in doing so committed to not knowingly source any cotton from Uzbekistan 7 - one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton - for the manufacturing of its products. However, the Government of Uzbekistan forces more than a million people 8 to work in the cotton fields each harvesting season and numerous reports highlight cases of human rights violations and forced child labour are “rife”in Uzbek cotton production. Although Primark has pledged not to knowingly source cotton from Uzbekistan, it does not seem to have any secure policy in place to guarantee it is not sourcing cotton from there, raising concerns about traceability and transparency within Primark’s supply chain once more.

The steps Primark is taking to improve garment workers wages

As a leading member of ETI, Primark’s Code of Conduct is founded on the ETI Base Code which stresses that “wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmarks, whichever is higher. In any event, wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.” Primark states it requires all its suppliers to adhere to this definition for all workers within its supply chain. For the value retailer, a living wage is seen as one which includes the total cost of living, healthcare, food, education and housing. Primark adds that it does acknowledge the inherent challenges in defining and calculating a living wage, but it believes that a “negotiated approach” remains the most practical and sustainable move and supports the development of all industrial strides taken to achieve this.

Acting as an agent and intermediary between banks and customers, Geosansar and Primark have aided workers in opening a bank account for the first time. In order to ensure garment workers can have easy access to their bank accounts, Geosansar bank kiosks are located close to factories and worker communities. The partnership, which sees Primark and Geosansar also provide financial education, as well as access to banking, has helped over 400 workers.

But is Primark doing enough to boost wages for garment workers?

While Primark’s work does show that the retailer is committed to improving wages for its garment workers, the value retailer seems to be stuck at the strategy level and research stage and has yet to begin developing long term building blocks to paying livable wages. For example, Cambodia was the first country in which the ACT initiative began its first process to develop an industry-wide collective bargaining for higher wages. In September 2015, an ACT delegation, which consisted of IndustriALL and leading representatives from Primark, H&M and Inditex travelled to Cambodia to meet with suppliers, garment unions, the Labour Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce and the garment manufacturers association of Cambodia. However, since then there have been no further updates or concrete outcomes on record of what exactly has been done to date. “Work is in the early stages,” notes Stewart, so it has yet to be seen what, if any achievable impact, the initiative has on the wages of garment workers.

So while Primark’s work does show that the retailer is committed to improving wages for its garment workers, the retailer seems stuck at the strategy level and research stage and has yet to begin developing long term building blocks to paying livable wages. “Brands should take wages out of the competition and start working together on payment of a living wage,” stresses Tara Scally, Dutch Campaign Coordinator Clean Clothes Campaign 11 . “Fair Wear Foundation 12 has done interesting research revealing the possibilities. Brands could also work together on other labour rights issues, such as supporting labour unions, setting up worker committees, setting realistic workloads and working hours...Primark should be more transparent in their sustainability efforts. Publicly showing their wage calculations would be a good start.”

”One brand cannot single handedly raise wages for the workers who make their clothes” Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer at the Fair Wear Foundation

Other NGOs agree that the key to implementing fair, livable wages within the industry’s supply chain lies within collaboration. “One brand cannot single handedly reduce overtime or raise wages for the workers who make their clothes,” says Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer at the Fair Wear Foundation. “Brands can work very hard on improving their purchasing practices - on forecasting, on production planning – all of which can reduce their risk of causing overtime - but if they are a small player and other brands have poor management practices, the results on the factory floor can still be disappointing. That’s why collaborative action is so important. Where possible we encourage our members –and all other garment brands- to increase leverage. Hence whenever we see that there are more member companies sourcing from the same factories, we encourage them to exchange information on audits, remediate together and cooperate on further improvement plans.”

• Cotton Connect is an enterprise which aims to transform the cotton industry for good, working with brands and retailers to enable them to develop a more robust and resilient cotton supply chain.
• Project JUST is an open platform dedicated to informing and empowering consumers to have the power to transform the fashion industry to an ethical and sustainable one with each purchase they make.
• HERHealth is part of HERProject, an initiative from the BSR which aims to increase the ability of low-income women to take charge of their health.
• Social Awareness and Voluntary Education is an NGO which aims to tackle child labour practices and empower female garment workers.
• The Ethical Consumer is an independent, not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder co-operative with open membership, which provides tools and resources to consumers to make informed purchase choices.
• Company Pledge Against Forced Labor in the Uzbek Cotton Sector
• End Uzbek Cotton Crimes is one of many organisations trying to raise awareness for the humantarian issues at work within Uzbekistan cotton production.
• According to the Cotton Campaign the Uzbek and Turkmen governments force farmers to grow cotton and citizens to pick cotton, all under threat of penalty, including the loss of land, job loss, expulsion from school, and docked pay. In Uzbekistan, more than a million school teachers, doctors, nurses and other citizens are victims of forced labor each year.
• Action, Collaboration, Transformation (ACT) is an initiative between international brands and retailers, manufacturers, and trade unions to address the issue of living wages in the textile and garment supply chain.
• Geosansar offers financial education and services to the those without a bank India. Supported by the State Bank of India, Geosansar provides bank accounts and bank branches in worker communities.
• Photos: Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme. Credit: Primark.
• Video: PRIMARK | Farmer Case Study – Hiru’s Story. Credit: Primark
• Video: Primark HERproject. Credit: Primark
• Video: Bank Accounts for Workers. Credit: Primark
• Infographic Living Wage: Clean Clothes Campaign, Tailored wages report 2014.

What Primark is doing to produce clothing with the least amount of harm to the environment

“Our aim is for all our stores to be as sustainable as possible with the technology and infrastructure that’s available at the time” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

“Primark is committed to reducing the impact of our operations on the environment and has implemented a number of sustainability initiatives across the business, including environmental health and safety audits, energy audits, central building management system to optimize energy consumption, LED lighting, extensive employee training, extended producer responsibility measures and waste recycling programmes,” explains Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. For example, Primark has a team of specialist auditors who conduct audits in all of its stores across 11 countries. The team works together to make sure each location is fully compliant with the regulatory requirements and that the value retailer continues to meet accepted good practices within the retail industry. The audits include onsite waste management practices, review of store emissions and ensuring all equipment is properly maintained.

Primark also conducts energy audits in all its stores and reviews how much energy each store consumes. The value retailer was even awarded the Carbon Trust Energy Standard 1 in recognition of its continued commitment to energy efficiency in its stores in 2014. Thanks to its energy-efficiency projects, Primark’s store energy intensity, which is measured by kilowatt-hour (kWh) per square foot, has been reduced by 11 percent since 2015. Primark has saved approximately 30 million kWh of energy through its bespoke software system called ERICC (Energy Reduction Information and Control Console). The ERICC system offers real-time information on the primary energy drivers within any store and indicates how a store should be performing from an energy management point of view. “All Primark staff complete online training as part of their induction on Environmental Health and Safety,” adds Stewart. “This includes guidance on onsite environmental health and safety issues, as well as waste and energy management.”

In addition Primark has also achieved the Carbon Trust Standard for Waste for its waste management systems in store and is working to assume direct control over as much of its recyclable materials used during packing and transport as possible. For example, Primark established a resource recovery unit in its German depot centre in July 2015, where cardboard, plastic and hangers are collected from its Northern European stores to be reprocessed and sent for recycling. The value retailer has had a similar system in place in the UK for a number of years now, which ensures all recyclables are collected from its stores via its delivery trucks and transported back to the central distribution centre. As Primark has become more actively involved in the recycling process of its materials, it has been able to significantly reduce the volume and frequency of waste collections at each store and aims to expand this system to additional regions. “Last financial year, 94 percent of waste generated by all of Primark’s stores and warehouses was recycled or beneficially reused,” points out Stewart.

But what about Primark’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

According to Associated British Foods Corporate Responsibility Report for 2016 2 , Primark’s GHG emissions have increased by 15 percent over the last three years. Primark’s GHG emissions grew 3 percent alone last year, as the value retailer attributes this growth to its expanding network of stores across Europe and the United States, leading to more transport movements of its products. At the moment 57 percent of all Primark’s GHG emissions result from the transporting of its goods and as Primark continues to grow, this percentage is only likely to increase. Primark notes it is constantly reviewing its routes, type of vehicles used and shared services to ensure it minimise miles and the resultant emissions as the company expands. But the value fashion retailer has yet to explore alternative solutions or set itself fixed goals in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

“In order for Primark to improve their practices to be more sustainable, we believe they need to address the full scope of these inputs” Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST

Although Primark has been transparent with its energy efficiency and waste management, it is clear the value retailer still has some ways to go to ensuring both its supply chain and vast store network become more sustainable. “Sustainability is a complex issue,” stresses Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 3 . “It involves looking at a product's full set of inputs, including raw material, water, energy and chemical use, along with the social inputs, manufacturing, consumer use and end-of-life. Taking into consideration fast-fashion’s current business model, which is focused on high volume, low price and disposable products, this cannot by definition nor intention, go hand in hand with sustainability,” she adds. “In order for Primark, or any fast fashion brand, to improve their practices to be more sustainable, we believe they need to address the full scope of these inputs. We would suggest the brand show leadership by setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for its manufacturing supply chain, and start to introduce the use of renewable energy, along with increasing its use of sustainable fibres, increasing transparency of its supply chain and working to increase the percentage of its First Tier suppliers that comply with its Code of Conduct .”

Primark’s stance on recycling textiles and sustainable fibres

In addition to working with SCAP and ECAP, Primark has been running a clothing recycling pilot for the past few months in selected stores in Germany and the UK together with I:CO 7 . The pilot was well received by Primark’s shoppers in the test stores, and at the moment Primark is currently working out all the legal requirements to roll out the initiative to all its stores in all its markets. “We probably do not realise the full potential of the recycling programme yet, as we have not been advertising it,” says Stewart. “But we have been very pleased with the trial and our decision to roll it out.” Stewart notes that they may have to adopt a slightly different model in the US due to legal reasons, but they aim to have a similar system in place overseas. Primark is not the first fashion high street retailer to initiate an in-store recycling scheme with I:CO, but one key difference between the Primark clothing recycling pilot and other fashion retailers textile recycling programmes is the customer incentive. Rather than giving customers a discount voucher for their next purchase in-store, Primark gave customers an organic cotton bag in return for a clothing donation. “[Giving a voucher] just seems a little counter-intuitive in my opinion.”

Primark’s partnership with I:CO is a good example of how collaboration can bring around positive change in terms of sustainability. However, in order to reach its goal of creating clothing with the least amount of harm done to the environment, the value retailer should be looking into additional avenues to increase its use of sustainable resources, as well as its use of recycled materials. At the moment it remains unclear what percentage of Primark’s apparel collections consist of recycled materials, or if they use recycled fibres in their clothing at all, an area which they should consider moving into according to international organisations. “We would suggest Primark increase its use of sustainable fibres, including developing further sustainable cotton programmes and using recycled fibres, along with tencel and modal instead of the less sustainable viscose fibre,” says FitzGerald. “We would suggest Primark share the long term intentions of its recycling program, the anticipated impact of diverting these textiles from the waste stream and the current and future destination of the textiles collected from these programs.”

Next to its textile and garment recycling initiative, Primark has been working with two organisations to efficiently manage its textile waste while helping those in need. “The one in the UK, which covers all our European stores, is Newlife 8 , a foundation which supports children who are either terminally ill or very physical disabled,” explains Stewart. “All the stock we have in store which we can’t sell, all our buying office samples and excess stock, is donated to Newlife.” Primark first started working with Newlife in 2010, and since then has managed to generate more than 2 million pounds in donations, which has been used to purchase equipment such as wheelchairs, nurse services and fund medical research. “In the States we set up a similar model with an organisation called KIDS Fashion Delivers 9 .” All of Primark’s stores in the US have been donating their excess stock to the non-profit organisation since 2015, which goes to those in need in 50 states throughout America. In addition Primark’s European stores donated a total of 100,000 cartons apparel goods to the European Red Cross Refugee Appeal 10 in 2015 to help refugees and migrants.

Is Primark doing enough in terms of sustainability with its excess stock?

The value retailer disagrees with this opinion, as Stewart says Primark has invested a lot in improving the quality of its garments over the last few years. However, the opposing views on the quality of Primark’s clothing does not change the fact that a large percentage of its clothing - as well as that produced by other fast-fashion retailers - ends up going to waste once it is discarded by consumers. According to WRAP, approximately 140 million pounds worth of used clothing is sent to landfills in the UK each year - accounting for 30 percent of consumers unwanted clothing. “It is a shame that so much hard work of workers worldwide ends up as waste,” Tara Scally, Dutch Campaign Coordinator for Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) 11 . “This does not do justice to the hard working garment workers, but into the production of the clothing. Many workers take pride in the work they do and the clothing they make and do not deserve to be exploited as they are now. Brands should plan accordingly so no garments go to waste.”

What Primark is doing to cut down its use of chemicals

“Our objective is to have full traceability from all Primark supply chain partners of upstream manufacturing, product and chemical inventory information for every point in the supply chain” Primark’s Chemical Management Programme Roadmap, 2015/2016

Primark also supports the Partnership for Cleaner Textile industry (PaCT) 16 , a holistic programme which supports the Bangladesh wet textile processing factories in adopting cleaner production methods. Twelve factories have already benefited from the programme to date, and an additional seven are currently benefitting from the PaCT training through Primark’s nominations. The training focuses on denim and jersey production, paying attention to the environmental impact of the main technologies used during the dyeing and washing processes. “We actively engage with our suppliers, chemical experts, other retailers and organisations to help bring about sustainable change,” states Primark in its Corporate Responsibility Report 2016. “We provide suppliers and their factories with formal training, tools and support to enable improvements to be made throughout the manufacturing process.”

However, in spite of the numerous initiatives Primark has undertaken to combat its chemical usage, the value retailer may not be able to reach its Detox commitment to Greenpeace by 2020. “Please note, Greenpeace no longer recognized Primark as a Detox Leader,” says FitzGerald. “The most recent report released in July 2016, ranks Primark in ‘Evolution Mode’, with Greenpeace stating that although the brand performs well on the elimination of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and transparency, it fails to take individual responsibility for the main tools it needs to meet its Detox 2020 plan.” The report notes that Primark chooses to rely on the ZDHC’s “flawed methodology”, which means the retailer is not selecting new target chemicals for eradication, or ensuring when it does test for their elimination, it is as close to possible to ‘zero.’ Greenpeace encourages Primark to adopt a “clean factory” approach, which sees chemical elimination targets applied to suppliers entire factory floor and not just to Primark’s own production lines.

Primark’s stance on a Circular Economy

“Additionally, other fast fashion brands are researching circularity, where used garments can be returned to the brand, the garment broken down (either mechanically or chemically) and respun into new yarn, then made into a new garment,” adds FitzGerald. “Circularity addresses the problem of increased consumption and disposal of limited resources. This technology is still in development for the process to work at scale, but there is exciting potential here for a large reduction in garments being sent to landfill, and the decreased use of virgin raw materials.” She encourages Primark to start looking into future options for implementing a circular economy, similar to the goal set by rival fast-fashion retailer H&M.

When asked on Primark’s current opinion on adopting a circular business model, Stewart acknowledges that it is an area the value retailer is exploring, but is not ready to take on as a future goal. “We are looking at it. The thing about Primark is that we communicate the things that we have done - rather than the things we want to do,” explains Stewart. “It’s a bit brutal, considering we do have a lot of future goals, but that’s how it is. If you think about the cotton project for example, we only started communicating that last year, when we have been working on it for three years. We want to be able talk about the things we have done and show what results we have achieved. I think it is a bit hard to talk about things you might do in the future because the challenge is keeping up with the ever-changing world. Circular economy - we will talk about that when we have something we have done about it.”

• The Carbon Trust Standard is the world'sleading independent certification of an organisation’s impact on the environment by verifying action on the three primary components of environmental sustainability: energy use and associated greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions, water use and waste output.
• Associated British Foods Corporate Responsibility Report 2016
• Project JUST is an open platform dedicated to informing and empowering consumers have the power to transform the fashion industry to an ethical and sustainable one with each purchase they make.
• The Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) is a collaborative framework and voluntary commitment to achieve industry-led targets for reducing the use of resources in the apparel clothing.
• WRAP works together with governments, businesses and communities to offer practical solutions to improve resource efficiency to move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy.
• The European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP) is a Life funded project supported by WRAP, which aims to reduce clothing waste across Europe and embed a circular economy approach.
• I:CO works with retailers to implement a take-back system in-store which makes it possible to collect used clothing and shoes at a store’s point-of-sale and give them a new life through re-use or recycling.
• Newlife Foundation is a registered UK charity which supports disabled and terminally ill children and their families.
• KIDS Fashion Delivers is a charity which donated new products to families in need across the US.
• The Red Cross is working across Europe to help the millions refugees and migrants displaced from conflicted areas such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Nigeria.
• Primark's restricted substance lists Product Restricted Substance List and Manufacturing Restricted Substance List.
• Greenpeace's Global Detox Campaign aims to elimate the use of hazardous chemicals from numerous industries, including the fashion industry to end toxic environmental pollution.
• The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is the apparel, footwear and home textile industry main alliance for sustainable production, whose main focus is creating the Higg Index, a standardized supply chain measurement tool for all industry participants to understand the environmental, social, labour impact of making and sell products.
• The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) is a joint roadmap of brands committed to defining and developing a manufacturing restricted substances list for the fashion industry.
• The Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) is a partnership led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which drived the long-term competitiveness and environmental sustainability of the textile wet processing sector by addressing water, energy and chemical use.
• Photo: Manchester store. Credit: Primark
• Photo factory via Pexels. Credit: Pixabay
• Video: An introduction to Love Your Clothes. Credit: Love Your Clothes
• Video: I:CO | RETHINK. RECYCLE. REWARD. Credit: I:CO spirit
• Photo: Industrial textile factory - © Lucian Coman | Dreamstime.com© Poco_bw | Dreamstime.com Industrial Textile Factory Photo
• Photo: Primark store in Madrid. Credit: Primark
• Photo: Primark store Venlo. Credit: Primark

How Primark is improving its workers well-being and educational initiatives

For example, Primark is working on improving its injury rate as part of its wider scheme to boost its safety performance, according to its Corporate Responsibility Report 2016. The value retailer states it is targeting efforts in certain countries where national safety standards differ from its own standards, but does not outline in detail which countries it is focusing on at the moment. However, Primark does ensure that all its workers undertake an online health and safety induction programme in their local language, at a time and pace which is suitable for them. The programme covers key issues workers should be aware of, such as health and safety responsibilities, hazard identification, and manual handling. In addition to the online course, Primark’s safety platform also includes additional information on safety topics, like office safety and emergency procedures. Primark also runs its Retail Manager Development Programme (RMDP), a bespoke supervisor development programme in the UK and northern Europe and is in the process of rolling it out to its other countries.

In addition, Primark launched a wellbeing programme in its head office in Dublin in July 2015, which currently offers 20 classes a week in its own exercise studio. Primark also increased the number of fun, team-based projects with employees to boost direct engagement, which led to over 100 employees taking part in the wellbeing summer challenge. The retailer has also been expanding its ‘back of house’ environment in both new and existing stores to ensure store staff have a positive work space. As Primark has also expanded into new regions over the last few years, the retailer has ensured that all its new locations are supported by safety specialists who help uphold its safety standards. All senior members of staff have been trained to make sure safety culture and employee well being are embedded into role descriptions and that workers follow a thorough training programme before being allowed to work the shop floor.

But how responsible are Primark’s in-store working conditions?

• Primark opened it first store in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2008.
• Primark currently counts 16 stores across the country, including its flagship store in Amsterdam.
• Primark employs a total of approximately 4,800 workers in the Netherlands.

"You are constantly hounded and monitored by managers and supervisors to work faster/better” Anonymous Primark Employee from Amsterdam, FNV online survey

In addition, 81 percent of respondents said they felt that Primark was missing a workers council who could negotiate agreements on their behalf concerning use of store cameras in relation to their privacy - even though the council is required by law in the Netherlands for any company with more than 50 employees. “The results are truly shocking. Primark governs with hard hard,” says Niels Suijker, union member at FNV in a statement. The value retailer said it was both “quite shocked and moved” by the results of FNV online survey and noted that it has been working for several months to launch its workers council. Since the survey’s results were published 3 Primark has met with FNV and agreed to make a number of changes to improve working conditions for staff, including respecting employee privacy, improved procedures for holiday leave, and the establishment of a workers council. However, even though Primark responded quickly to the allegations and was eager to improve conditions, FNV is aware time will show if working conditions improve and has therefore scheduled a meeting in three months time.

However, store employees in the Netherlands who voiced these concerns are not only ones working at Primark who feel this way. Over in the UK and in the US, Primark sales assistants have also shared concerns feeling overworked and underpaid, having to deal with overbearing management teams, as well as difficulty in taking time off, on job boards Indeed and Glassdoor. These complaints from the UK have come even after Primark implemented the “national living wage” 4 , which aims to ensure its workers are paid enough to live off of. In France, employees also complained of difficult working conditions in Primark, with complaints ranging from unpaid sick leave, to constant monitoring, to unexplainable gaps between sales assistants' wages 5 . Over in Spain, in Madrid one Primark retail worker claimed he was making the same amount of money working 30 hours a week at Primark in 2016, as he was working 12 hours a week at department store El Corte Inglés in 2007 6 . So even though Primark may have a number of initiatives in place aimed at improving employee wellbeing, it seems as if the effects of these programmes are not as beneficial or effective for all its workers - in particular its store employees.

Should Primark be more open with consumers concerning sustainability?

“We believe Primark could do more to educate its shoppers on how to care for their clothes” Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST

Primark is also updating its website to offer consumers more information on its ethical and sustainable activities. “We will be putting a lot more information concerning our ethics on there come May,” continues Stewart. “We are starting to share more films - our cotton film is a good example of that - but we are trying to make it more engaging and interesting for customers based on the feedback we get and offer as much information as possible." This is why Primark is developing the communication around everything in terms of ethical and sustainable programmes, to make sure it is as informative and visual as possible for its readers. NGOs applaud the move from Primark and agree the retailer should explore further avenues on how it can share more information on its sustainable and ethical programmes. “We suggest Primark share more data with its shoppers concerning the workers that make its clothing, and show how the brand is working to ensure they are treated ethically, so shoppers can see first hand the stories behind their clothes,” says Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 7 . “We also believe Primark could do more to educate its shoppers on how to care for their clothes and encourage them to look after them and keep them for longer.”

At the moment Primark does have a few initiatives in place aimed at educating consumers on how to care better for their clothes, such as their partnership with SCAP 8 . But in order to properly tackle many consumers perception and predisposed disposition against Primark and its products, the value fashion retailer may have to dig a little deeper. Primark does agree that it could be sharing more information on its sustainable and ethical practices with the public, even if consumers are not always asking for it. “It’s a bit like the chicken and egg conundrum isn’t it?,” says Stewart on sharing more on their corporate responsibility practices. “I think that the information has to be there for the consumer to make an educated choice. But if it isn’t available, then consumers should also be proactively asking why not, and what retailers are doing on certain subjects. We do get many queries concerning our sustainable practices and we do answer those as best we can.” Primark even has a FAQs section on its website under its ‘Ethics’ section which answers it's most commonly asked questions.

Does Primark’s Low Prices equal Low Quality and Disposable Fashion?

Unfortunately cheaper prices are also more likely to trigger consumers into making an impulse purchase in store. And thanks to Primark’s low prices shoppers can easily fill a recycled paper bag full of garments for 50 pounds or less. But this also means consumers are more tempted to buy something without trying it and will be less inclined to return an ill-fitting garment, as it could cost them more in travel costs going back to the store than the actual garment itself. “It is hard to resist the allure of a good bargain, but fast fashion means we’re consuming and trashing fashion at a higher rate than our planet can handle,” warns Kirsten Brodde, head of Greenpeace’s Detox My Fashion campaign 11 in a statement.

What is Primark doing to offer affordable fashion at an amazing price?

So what is Primark doing to reassure its consumers that its products should be cherished and that people should not buy more than they need? On its website, the value retailer has a dedicated area under its ‘Ethics’ page which explains how they are able to offer the lowest prices on the high street. For example Primark claims to not spend any money advertising and orders its products in large volumes well in advance, so they can keep their overhead costs as low as possible. Primark’s margins are also said to half a high as those of its fast-fashion competitors. Primark also ensures its suppliers use a streamlined production process to make its clothing in the most effective way possible. Combined, these tactics are said to ensure Primark remains accessible and affordable to all shoppers, while offer good value for money - a goal the company has always kept in sight, according to Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. “Unlike other clothes shops, people often come to Primark because they know they’ll be able to afford a whole outfit. This means we get the savings from buying in bulk,” explains Stewart.

“Unlike other clothes shops, people often come to Primark because they know they’ll be able to afford a whole outfit” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

“[But] I do not think we are actively encouraging people to buy more than they need with our low prices, we are providing affordable fashion,” argues Stewart. “I think the one thing I would say is that it depends where you live. We are all quite focused on the flagship stores, where you see people coming out of Primark with piles of bags. [At the flagship stores] you have tourists coming from abroad, where there isn’t a Primark store. But for us it's all about making fashion affordable at a value people can afford. If you go to a Primark’s further up North, in Grimsby, UK for example you can see people are buying one or two things, not bags and bags of things - and we can see this reflected in our sales data. So it is important to remember that these flagship stores attract huge amounts of people and we shouldn’t get side tracked as to what is looks like across the board.”

“As long as we stimulate seeing clothing as a disposable product instead of an investment, the race to the bottom will continue” Tara Scally, Dutch Campaign Coordinator for Clean Clothes Campaign 12

Stewart adds Primark has also been investing in creating better quality clothing to help combat the stigma that its offers throw-away clothing and ensure their products last longer. “I know people will often say that the quality isn’t very good at Primark, but we have invested a lot in quality over the last few years,” says Stewart. “Right from the start, when the buyers are developing the product, we ensure we have the quality team looking at the design of product. Then when the product goes into the production side, we have quality checks during the product’s manufacturing as well, which has made a real difference as we are noticing a positive response from customers. We are building things to last.” She claims she has had a suedette jacket she is wearing from Primark for years, and that her co-workers have even begun to joke about how often she wears it. “I don’t care really, I love this jacket.”

Nevertheless, Primark cannot argue with the fact that many consumers do shop excessively at Primark and are more likely to make an unnecessary, or unneeded purchase if the price is low enough. The rise of ‘haul’ style shopping videos on YouTube is just one example of how the value retailer’s pricing is affecting the way people shop and how they view their products. A quick Google search shows exactly how fast Primark haul videos are growing in popularity - with 3.63 million results showing up for ‘Primark haul 2017’ versus 2.95 million hits for ‘Primark haul 2016.’ Many of these videos attract millions of views - for instance YouTube favourite Zoella’s latest ‘Primark Haul’, entitled ‘The Biggest Primark Haul I've Ever Done’, was uploaded on March 21, 2017 and already counts over 2.6 millions views. The 20-minute video features numerous items from Primark’s Spring/Summer 2017 collection including boyfriend style jeans, striped cropped tops and lacy triangle bras - all in several colours and sizes. In the video Zoella shows off each item one by one to her viewers: young, impressionable women who all want to look and dress just like her - which leads to many of them also shopping in bulk at Primark.

Primark maintains it is able to keep its prices so low because all of its orders are placed in bulk and not because its does not pay its workers enough. “From the way we source our products to how we organise our stores, our business is based on doing some simple things very differently from other retailers, which is how we can keep prices low,” says Stewart. However many consumers still believe that Primark is less ethical than high street rivals H&M, Zara or Mango, which is false according to Primark. “We share 98 percent of our factories with other high street retailers,” stresses Stewart. “The places of production are shared - they are the same working conditions, the same wages - let’s just level the plane and get rid of this assumption that paying more for an item somehow makes it more ethical. It’s one of our challenges we have to deal with. We have to find a way of explaining to the customer not to make that assumption, as price is not an indication of good or bad ethics. We are big business and people talk a lot about us because we are big.”

“Let’s just level the plane and get rid of this assumption that paying more for an item somehow makes it more ethical - price is not an indication of good or bad ethics” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

Primark has been grappling with the best way to tackle this assumption over the past few years. One key avenue Primark has been experimenting with to better communicate their ethics to consumers is video. But what could Primark film to convey its good ethics in simple and clear way? It’s suppliers factories."We made a 360 degree video of one of suppliers factories in Bangladesh,” says Stewart. The video, which marks a first for the value retailer, shows what factory conditions are like for workers in Bangladesh. “It's really interesting and been very helpful for when we have been giving school talks or teaching at colleges,” adds Stewart. “I just think it’s incredibly insightful because it follows the lifecycle of a product, from the cutting room all the way through the factory floor.” Primark has shared the video on their website, under their ‘Ethics’ section as consumers often requested what a supplier factory from the value retailer looks like. “Historically we have always shared still photographs of the factories we work with, but we thought it would be good to bring it to life in another way. Now with the younger generation becoming increasingly technical and visual, we felt that 360 degree video was the right format to do that in," explains Stewart. Depending on how consumers respond to the video, Primark may consider creating more - but for now the value retailer is pleased with their first 360 degree video.

• Primark's international website
• The FNV, is the largest trade union in the Netherlands and counts over a million members across numerous sectors.
• FNV Primark results from its online survey into the working conditions at Primark NL.
• The National Living Wage rates is applicable to workers aged 25 or more, the national minimum wage is applicable for workers aged 24 and under in the UK. Rates change every April.
• Referenced from: 'Enquête – L’enfer Primark' - October, 2016.
• Referenced from: 'No es solo Primark: así tratan (y así pagan) a sus dependientes en H&M, Inditex y Mango' - November, 2015.
• MEP Marc Tarabella written question to the European Commission to investigate Primark's working conditions.
• Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) and the Textile Recycling Association joint statement on garment recycling.
• Photo: Amsterdam Flagshipstore. Credit: FashionUnited.
• Photo: Primark Employees at Primark Den Haag. Credit: Simon Trel for FashionUnited.
• Photo: Primark Gent opening Belgium via AFP. Credit: JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / BELGA
• Photo: Primark Boston. Credit: Paul Marotta / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
• Video: Primark The Biggest Primark Haul I’ve Ever Done. Credit: Zoella
• Video: PRIMARK | Take a 360 virtual tour of a factory in Bangladesh. Credit: Primark.

Can Primark really offer responsible fashion at an amazing price?

Some may think the Rana Plaza factory collapse 2013 was a turning point for the fashion industry - a wake up call for the retailers producing their garments there to band together to make a change for good. However for others, like Primark, it was a call to take a closer look at its supply chain and operations to see where it could make even a larger impact through its sustainable and ethical initiatives. For years Primark has been fighting against the stigma that cheap fashion is not sustainable or ethical, even though the value fashion retailer shares 98 percent of its suppliers and factories with other high street retailers, such as H&M, Zara and Mango.

For example Primark has partnered with numerous NGOs, such as Solidaridad, CottonConnect and Made-By, as well as organisations like The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) 1 and together has instigated many initiatives aimed at improving the livelihoods, health and safety of its workers. In addition Primark has joined a number of partnerships to ensure its products are made as sustainably and responsibly as possible, with as little harm to the environment. The value retailer believes that collaboration is one of the keys to improving environmental standards and working conditions across the industry in main manufacturing hubs. “What certainly has helped over the last two years is there has been more of an appetite to collaborate,” says Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. “There were a number of brands before who did not want to collaborate. But now, we are all sharing factories and therefore human rights has to be a prerequisite for us, as it should be for all.”

Although some may argue that not a lot seems to have changed within the fashion industry concerning the lives and rights garment workers since Rana Plaza, Steward disagrees. “From my point of view, I have seen real change coming through. There are some new collaborations now coming through which could have a real impactful change.” As Primark has made sure its five pillars of corporate responsibility have become an integrated part of the company, it’s Sustainable Cotton Programme has become a prime example of how such an initiative can positively impact both workers livelihoods, as well as the retailer’s cotton products - even if they do not directly own any farms. “For us sustainability is just about doing it across the board,” notes Stewart. “But I find it more difficult to share what we are doing sustainably because we do not make capsule collections and can’t just hang a little label on it. We have to find a more holistic way to share what we do.”

“We have to find a more holistic way to share what we do” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

Publishing more information on its website, training its members of staff and creating behind the scenes videos of the factories it works with, are just a handful of avenues Primark has taken on share what it does in terms of sustainability and social responsibility. And the value retailer’s efforts have not gone completely unnoticed within the industry. “It is commendable that fast fashion companies are reacting to the challenges we face and creating positive intervention towards socially mindful solutions. In the case of Primark, and others, I dare say, it's about time,” says Orsola de Castro, Founder and Creative Director at Fashion Revolution 2 and Esthetica. However, although fast-fashion retailers like Primark have been working hard to improve working conditions and dramatically decrease their impact on the environment, in reality they have been unable to match their sales gains with corresponding improvements in terms of the social and environmental aspects.

At the end of the day, the fashion industry remains one of the most polluting sectors in the world. The social, sustainable and ethical impacts of the industry - both good and bad - continue to grow as the number of garments produced does. Since the global emergence of fast-fashion retailers like Primark back in 2000, the number of garments produced annually has doubled, exceeding 100 billion garments in 2014 - which is equal to nearly 14 items of clothing for every person on earth according to data from McKinsey & Company 3 . With limited resources for apparel production, there is only so much retailers like Primark can due to limit the negative impacts of its current business model. The value fashion retailer’s parent company, Associated British Foods, acknowledges it faces pressure to set itself fixed goals in terms of responsible and sustainable production, but stresses transparency is key to making a real difference.

“There is pressure from outside organisations to set targets as soon as counting begins. I believe it is more important to show, as transparently as possible, proof of the good we have already done, than to set a target of what we may do in the future” George Weston, Associated British Foods Chief Executive, ABF Corporate Responsibility Report, 2016

However, others disagree and argue transparency, as well as setting targets, are still not enough to make a real difference. “Of course it can be seen as if the greatest offenders are now establishing themselves as the greatest investors in sustainability and ethics, but the truth is that the fast fashion model is far from being effective and considerate,” continues de Castro. “It relies on some kind of exploitation, of people or resources. Until there is a general understanding that we all need to slow down and redress this industry, all initiatives, however welcome, however innovative, are just covering the problem, not solving it. To solve it we need more time and a concerted effort on behalf of us all, to buy a little less and demand a whole lot better for our garment workers.”

• A list of Primark’s social, environmental and sustainable partners.
• Fashion Revolution is a global movement started in the wake of Rana Plaza. Fashion Revolutions aims to bring everyone involved in the fashion supply chain together to bring around positive change and create a more sustainable future.
• Data from ’Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula’ by Nathalie Remy, Eveline Speelman, and Steven Swartz, McKinsey & Company, October 2016.
• Photo: Leipzig - Germany. Credit: Primark.

Workers' Rights Cartoon

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Primark is a subsidiary company of the ABF (Associated British Foods) Group. The company was launched in 1969 in Ireland trading as Penny’s. By 2000, there were over 100 stores across Britain and Ireland. By 2012 Primark had 238 branches across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Primark has become distinctive for offering unbeatable value whilst never losing its innovative, fashion-driven edge.

Like many retail fashion businesses, Primark does not manufacture goods itself. Its expertise lies in understanding its customers and working with its suppliers to produce goods to Primark’s specification. It then gets the right goods to the right places at the right prices. Its profitability depends on the sheer volume of sales. Primark’s value-for-money prices rely on low costs. These are achieved in part through economies of scale and efficient distribution.

Primark’s products are mainly sourced from suppliers in Europe and Asia. Its key sourcing countries are China, India, Bangladesh and Turkey. Putting the manufacturing of garments into these countries creates jobs. These are often at better rates of pay than other types of work on offer, improving overall standards of living.

Corporate social responsibility

Primark has initiated a programme of activities which supports its corporate social responsibility (CSR) stance and ensures that its trading meets the company’s values and ethical standards. Underpinning its programme of activities is Primark’s Code of Conduct which ensures that all workers making its products are treated decently, paid a fair wage and work in good working conditions. For more information please visit  www.primark-ethicaltrade.co.uk

This case study looks at Primark’s involvement in the HERproject (Health Enables Returns) which is raising awareness and delivering healthcare education to female workers in supplier countries.

What is CSR?

Businesses need to acknowledge and respond to factors in their environment, for example, changes in available workforce or the business’ impact on its local communities. Corporate social responsibility represents the responsibility that a business has towards all its stakeholders, not just to owners or shareholders, to deal with their needs fairly.

Internal stakeholders include shareholders and employees. Shareholders want a return on their capital and this depends on making a profit. That in turn means by adding value. Employees want job security, good pay and conditions and job satisfaction.

External stakeholders include customers, suppliers, non-governmental organisations, workers and the local communities where its products are made. All of these have different needs.

An organisation therefore needs to be able to respond and demonstrate responsibility in different ways. This might include activities as wide-ranging as encouraging employees to volunteer in community projects; sponsoring and supporting charity work; or contributing time and money to improving its environmental impact.

Why Primark embraces CSR

As an international business with a global supply chain and a growing retail base, Primark believes that business has a responsibility to act and trade ethically and that, by doing so, it can be a force for good. Its business directly contributes to the employment of more than 700,000 workers across three continents. Ensuring that their rights are respected is key to its continued growth.

Primark does not own the companies or factories that produce its goods, but it does have a responsibility to the workers in those factories, to its customers and shareholders, to ensure that its products are made in good working conditions. The HERproject in Bangladesh is an example of how Primark is actively seeking to make positive changes in the lives of its supplier workforces.

In Bangladesh, over 50% of the manufacturing workforce is made up of women. The jobs available to women in garment factories give them greater independence and help to reduce poverty. However, these women often have little education and low levels of literacy as they drop out of education early to help their families.

They also lack basic knowledge of health, hygiene and nutrition and an understanding of how a woman’s body works. Poor hygiene often causes persistent and painful infections. Childbirth is particularly hazardous and post-birth complications are common. There is little understanding of the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV) or the means of preventing transmission. Far more women than men are malnourished and many women suffer from anaemia. These issues, often combined with a lack of access to qualified medical advice, mean that the female workforce is particularly vulnerable.

The HERproject uses education as the key tool against all these inter-related problems. The programme aims not only to improve the health of female workers through training and education, but also to give them the tools to help them take charge of their personal and working lives. These benefits in turn pass on to their families and help to enhance whole communities.

Making CSR happen

The HERproject is an initiative started by BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), a non-governmental organisation that works with over 250 companies on environmental, social and human rights. The HERproject has so far helped over 50,000 women in different countries. It has done this through working with companies like Primark, Primark’s suppliers and local health providers.

The HERproject is simple but surprisingly powerful:

• A small number of female staff in a factory (around 10%) is selected to become health education trainers called ‘peer group educators’.
• The local health service provider trains the peer group educators, who are then responsible for training the other women based in the workplace, passing on the message and helping to disseminate what they have learned.

The process emphasises mutual help and encouragement. The women trainers are effective because they fully understand the local culture. They are not seen as outsiders imposing strange ideas. Instead, the trainers understand why the women may be reluctant to seek help with issues that can be sensitive. They can build their self-confidence as well as their practical knowledge.

‘ I didn’t have anyone to tell me how to look after myself, it wasn’t taught at school. The trainers told me that many diseases come from the unpurified water that I was taking from the tap. This water can be the cause of sickness, cholera and diarrhoea. At first my family said to me, how do you know this stuff? You work in a garments factory! I told them it’s what I have learnt from the HERproject. When I began to give them advice they started to get interested in the project. Everyone I have told now boils their water and they don’t suffer like before.’   Umme Habiba (garment worker)

The HERproject is also helping others not directly involved in the project. Outside the workshops informal learning continues. Women build supportive relationships and talk to each other out of work. This is reinforced by the project helping to set up factory clinics and creating vital referral links to local hospitals.

Selina Kamal is a factory quality inspector and a peer educator for HERproject. Through her own training she is now more aware of the importance of cleanliness for herself and her children. They all now drink purified water and eat more vegetables. She has already helped a friend, Shilpi, who is a school teacher.

‘ I came to Selina after I had two miscarriages and irregular periods. Selina advised me to go the doctor as she knew something must be wrong. The doctor prescribed me medication for my problem. ’  Shilpi (teacher)

The value of the HERproject

Improving the health of women workers in Bangladesh and helping to empower and educate the female workforce is an important ethical goal in its own right. The benefits to communities can also been seen. Over time, initiatives like this can support key issues such as reducing infant mortality.

Factories in Bangladesh taking part in HERprojects have seen healthy returns on the money invested by Primark in the programme. This has been achieved through improvements in productivity, a more stable workforce, lower absenteeism, decreased labour turnover, improved quality and a reduction in housekeeping costs. As an example, the managing director of one factory in Bangladesh found that absenteeism in the factory fell by 55% during the first six months of the HERproject. Turnover of female workers dropped from over 50% to around 12%.

Seeing the benefits

Mrs Kaniz Fatema is the managing director of a medium-sized factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. When the HERproject was introduced to her factory a year ago, she was unconvinced, viewing it as ‘just another project’. However, just one year later her view has been transformed. Women’s health is now high on her agenda. A healthier workforce is literally paying dividends. Absenteeism and labour turnover are down by a startling 50%. Productivity is up and even internal staff communication is more effective. Mrs Kaniz Fatema now employs a female doctor and has set up a scheme to provide sanitary napkins to her female workers, helping to embed a new culture within the factory and allowing health education in the factory to continue after the project ends.

‘HERproject has made a real difference in my factory. The workers have increased their productivity as they are now looking after themselves better. I have become a lot closer to my female workers. I have also told other factory managers about the success of the project at our factory. The male workers are now asking when we will start a similar project for them. ’  Mrs Kaniz Fatema (factory manager)

Other benefits are harder to measure but are increasingly recognised by the factory managers. Getting women to communicate effectively on health matters builds trust and confidence. This feeds back into better communication with supervisors and managers. This, in turn, leads to improved teamwork and the motivation to accept more responsibility and leadership roles in the community.

‘ Workers now stay longer and are more productive. The HERproject has also helped my relationship with the women workers. They are not so shy to talk to me anymore. If there are problems, I now hear about them. ’  Mr Riaz (factory manager)

Increasing motivation

This demonstrates the principles of the Hawthorne effect theory of motivation. Theorist Elton Mayo found that factory workers with long hours of routine work were motivated by someone taking an interest in them and their work. Feeling that they mattered as individuals, they experienced a new connection with the job. As a result, productivity improved. In a similar way, by focusing on the women workers and their health issues, the HERproject is also delivering improved motivation. See more on the HERproject at  https://www.primark-ethicaltrading.co.uk/ourwork/c/womens_health

‘ Not only has HERproject given women the knowledge to improve their health behaviour, it has empowered them to seek leadership roles in their jobs and their communities. The peer-to-peer model – with women teaching each other about women’s health – has given them the confidence to go against the grain in regions where the traditional role for women is not as strong .’  Racheal Yeager   (BSR HERproject Manager)

The industrialised countries of the world benefit from the lower costs of labour in countries such as Bangladesh and India. However, more consumers are now asking if this is ethical and questioning its sustainability.

Some trade-offs between stakeholder needs are inevitable. CSR does not come free. It involves a real commitment of resources, management time and energy. On the other hand, as studies of the HERproject in other countries have shown, each dollar invested in the health of female employees can yield more than three dollars in business benefits. In addition, the improvements in human well-being are incomparable.

Despite criticism of globalisation, business and trade can be a force for good. This is increasingly recognised in the ways that consumers assign values to brands. Primark is making progress in taking on wider responsibilities and devising relevant projects that work on the ground. It has done this with help from NGOs and organisations such as BSR. Its approach with the HERproject is not purely about business benefits, but focused on making a difference to the lives of its supplier workers.

To date, 4,500 women in Primark’s factories have been trained under the HERproject in Bangladesh. The project results have shown such benefit that the project is being rolled out to Primark’s suppliers in China and India. Primark’s ongoing involvement with the women workers in Bangladesh and other supplier countries will help to provide it with a sustainable and ethical business model.

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Sustainably-conscious consumers' perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards the fast fashion industry: A Case of Primark

This study uses in-depth semi-structured interviews with sustainably-conscious consumers in order to explore what influences their decision-making process in regards to fast fashion. Primark is used as a case study in order to contextualise the argument and interview data. Thematic analysis is used to uncover and analyse the following themes and subthemes: Perception (Consumers, Environment; and Overseas Community), Attitude (Guilt) and Behaviour (Alternatives; and Overconsumption). The findings aim to explore patterns and connections between sustainably-conscious consumers perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards fast fashion brands, and how they relate to Primark’s CSR practices.

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Maria Ciasullo

In recent times, the concept of sustainability has gradually taken on a leading role, particularly because of its potential ability to influence consumers’ view and, consequently, their buying choices. Based on this consideration, the work, by means of an empirical analysis, pursues two research questions: (i) is it possible to imagine a theoretical model in the fashion world able to show whether “importance”, “expectations” and “social influence” effectively affect consumers’ willingness to reward a sustainable fashion brand via their purchasing behavior? and (ii) how much are consumers willing to pay to get a sustainable item of clothing? In order to answer these two research questions, a Multiple Linear Regression Model is tested, which offers an interesting result: consumers attach little relevance to the importance accorded to a brand’s sustainability, since they orient themselves on the basis of their expectations and their own group’s thoughts. Another finding is that consume...

Journal of Risk and Financial Management

Doroteja Mandarić

The focus of this confirmatory research was on consumer attitudes towards the sustainability of fashion brands and how these attitudes influence their purchasing decisions. The aim was to explore if the gap between attitudes and purchasing behaviour was present within Croatian consumers to the same extent as previous research has shown. A survey was conducted of 263 respondents with purchasing power to examine their perception, awareness of, and attitudes towards sustainability and eco-fashion as consumers. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results suggest that participants have a positive attitude towards the sustainability of fashion brands. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between the importance of fashion brand sustainability and consumers’ decisions to buy sustainable clothing products. However, the sustainability of a fashion brand or product is among the least important factors in their purchasing decision. T...

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal

Dongmei Cao

Purpose Despite extensive study into various aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the effect on consumer behaviour is less explored. A growing amount of research is concerned with the phenomenon that CSR has a minor effect on actual purchases although CSR practices enhance consumers’ purchase intentions. This is documented as the CSR-consumption paradox and is yet to be resolved. The purpose of this paper is to further understand this paradox. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires were administered face-to-face to consumers in Birmingham. These questionnaires concern consumer behaviour in relation to CSR practices of 21 popular apparel companies in the UK. Findings Results suggest that consumers’ pro-social priority is significantly related to pro-social consumption and that consumers’ awareness of CSR practices is insignificantly associated with their purchase behaviour. The pro-social consumption does not differ significantly among different demographic groups. R...

International Journal of Consumer Studies

Lucia Reisch

In response to the rapidly growing consumption of clothing, environmental sustainability concerns have increasingly been expressed. While designers and industry have worked on responses, little is known about how ordinary consumers understand sustainability with regarding to clothing. A study by Defra in 2008 revealed a low awareness of sustainability and proposed sustainable fashion goals for consumers. Research on consumer clothing purchase tends to be from a marketing perspective with the ultimate aim of increasing consumer sales. Much of the literature on clothing sustainability has focused on the buying of ethical/environmentally-friendly clothing and on younger consumers. By contrast, this thesis has focused on an in-depth study of ten mothers aged between 25 and 60 in and around Leicester. The women’s clothing consumption was investigated through shopping trips, wardrobe sampling and a semi-structured interview about their shopping and ownership behaviour. Only at the end of ...

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Primark has come under repeated scrutiny for its ethics in recent years. 

Its low prices were a revelation on the high street when it launched as ‘Penneys’ in 1969 and it continues to sell at rock-bottom prices today.

But what makes Primark’s low prices possible?

We examine the true cost of Primark’s fast fashion, and shed a light on ways in which workers, the environment and animals have paid the real price.  

Is Primark ethical?

Our research highlights several ethical issues with Primark, including inadequate policies on animal welfare, failure to ensure workers’ rights in its supply chain, and its owners’ poor record on tackling climate change.

Below we outline some of these issues. To see the full detailed stories, and Primark’s overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe .

If we just looked at Primark’s policies it would appear to have a reasonably robust approach to workers’ rights. 

Its code of conduct requires suppliers to meet vital workers’ rights criteria, including payment of living wages and no discrimination. It has mapped 94% of its direct suppliers on its website, and says that it works with trade unions to ensure workplace representation. 

However, Primark faces multiple allegations suggesting that it has failed to live up to its policies.

In January 2023, the University of Aberdeen’s business school and the advocacy group Transform Trade published a report about the impact of clothes companies’ “unfair practices” on their suppliers in Bangladesh. According to the report:

"Suppliers mentioned major global brands including ASOS, H&M, Inditex/Zara, Next Primark, Aldi, Lidl, Asda/Walmart, New Look, Nike, Pep & Co, COSTCO, KIK and Bestseller as having the highest proportion of unfair practices, including cancellation of orders, price reductions, refusal to pay for goods dispatched/in production and/or delaying payment of invoices by more than three months."

In March 2022, workers also reported a number of violations at factories in Myanmar , that had previously or were currently in the Primark supply chain, including unfair dismissal and child labour . 

Primark responded to the allegations in November 2023. It stated that it had ended its relationship with a number of factories prior to the allegations, and was investigating several other issues. 

Primark does not appear to have a policy prohibiting the use of cotton from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China , where the state is known to force members of the Uyghur ethnic minority to work in the cotton industry .   

Primark receives 0/100 in Ethical Consumer’s animals category. 

The brand sells animal products including leather, feathers and wool. Ethical Consumer searched for animal welfare policies relating to these products and found that the company had some policies in place preventing the worst welfare outcomes for the animals involved, but these were not comprehensive. A significant amount of its animal products were not covered by adequate policies.

Ethical Consumer also found animal rights issues with Primark’s owner, Associated British Foods (ABF), which sells meat and dairy products such as bacon and ham via a number of ABF's other brands . It did not have a policy prohibiting factory farming.

Environment

Primark’s owner Associated British Foods (ABF) performs poorly when it comes to tackling climate change. While the company is taking some steps to reduce its emissions – such as purchasing renewable energy and installing onsite solar, it does not report on the largest share of its emissions which come from its supply chain.

In its Responsibility Report , ABF states, “Many of our businesses are in the process of calculating their wider Scope 3 emissions, focusing initially on their supply chains. Primark completed this process in 2021 and is currently implementing plans to support its suppliers and partners to reduce their GHG emissions in line with its reduction target". However, Ethical Consumer expects massive multinationals like ABF to be taking steps across all their businesses.

While the company said that it was “working towards an ambition to achieve net zero by 2050 or sooner”, it did not lay out clear interim targets and its ambition had not been certified as in line with international climate goals.  

The company also does not have a good track record when it comes to financial ethics. 

ABF has several subsidiaries in countries considered by Ethical Consumer to be tax havens , including Mauritius, the Netherlands and Ireland, that do not appear to serve the local population. It does not have clear policy prohibiting tax avoidance in its Tax Strategy , and has not provided an explanation about the role of these subsidiaries. 

The text above was written June 2024, and most research was conducted in November and December 2023.  

Company information

Company address:.

• Annual revenue: £7,400,000,000
• Website: https://www.primark.co.uk

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Case study on Primark sustainability, ethics, supply chain.

• Introduction
• Supply Chain
• Environment

Are Primark's sustainability efforts enough to make a difference?

Primark, the Irish fashion retailer owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), is seen as one biggest fashion retail success stories of the past decade. Best known for its low price and high value offering, "Amazing fashion, amazing prices", the high street staple has extended its reach across Europe and overseas into the United States. However, in spite of its retail success, Primark has been struggling to overcome the consumer’s pre-fixed notion that fast-fashion is not sustainable, and certainly not ethically made.

Following the tragic collapse of Rana Plaza , the most deadly accident in the history of the garment industry, more and more people begun to question how a t-shirt costing as little as 2 pounds could ever be responsibly made. On April 24, 2013 a building housing five garment factories which manufactured products for approximately 28 brands, collapsed in near Dhaka, Bangladesh, claiming the lives of 1,138 workers and injuring more than 2,000 individuals. The tragedy was not only seen as a wake up call for the international fashion industry to band together and protect those most vulnerable in their supply chains - it was also a immediate call to action for Primark, who sourced from New Waves Bottoms, a supplier in Rana Plaza, to take a closer look at its ethics and CSR, to see where it could improve.

Primark was among the first retailers to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, initiated by the IndustriALL and UNI Global Union. It was also one of the first to ensure the factory victims and families affected by the collapse receive financial support and food aid immediately following the disaster. The value retailer pledged to give both short and long-term financial compensation to those affected by the factory collapse and has paid a total of 14 million dollars to date - 11 million of which has gone to workers and families employed by its supplier, New Waves Bottom. Since then Primark has continued to work with local partners and non-profit organisations to ensure any funds or support they gave to workers and their families would be secure by offering financial advice and guidance. In addition, the Irish retailer launched the ‘Pashe Achi Project’ to ensure compensation recipients retain access to their financial compensation and understand their rights.

What steps Primark has taken to become more responsible following Rana Plaza

Lastly, Primark also tighten its programme of structural surveys in Bangladesh to assess the structural integrity of the factories from which it sources from. At the moment Primark has a team of over 80 experts dedicated to sustainability, ethical fashion and worker training as part of their Ethical Trade Team. These teams based in its nine key sourcing locations, such as China, India, Bangladesh and Turkey, act as the retailer's "eyes and ears on the ground," according to Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. Primark regularly visits factories where it holds a ‘lead’ role in respect to the Accord and is in frequent contact with all other factories which it supplies from. But Primark’s ethical and sustainable initiatives go much further than Rana Plaza.

Unlike fast-fashion competitors, such as H&M, who has been extremely open in communicating their sustainable initiatives to the public through campaigns such as ‘Close the Loop’, Primark has remained relatively quiet on what it does in terms of sustainability, ethics, and labour rights. Until recently that is. Following the expansion of its Sustainable Cotton Programme, which sees Primark working with CottonConnect and the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) to support over 11,000 female cotton farmers in India, as well as increasing consumer interest in Primark’s own sustainable and ethical practices, Primark has decided to become more vocal concerning its commitments to producing responsible fashion.

“Historically when we did not say anything, people believed that we were not being sustainable at all, when we were just trying to find our comfort level in communicating this,” explains Stewart. “It’s not something new, it’s business as usual and we have been doing it for a very long time. But now our customers are asking us about it, so we are talking about it more...especially now that our customers are getting older, they want to know more.” Over the years Primark has implemented a series of strategies and initiatives which vary from improving the livelihoods of its garment workers, to reducing its carbon footprint as well its chemical usage, water usage and waste output, to using more sustainable materials.

“Our purpose is to provide safe, nutritious, affordable food and clothing that is great value for money. In doing these things well we know we contribute to making millions of people's lives better," says George Weston, Chief Executive Officer of Associated British Foods, parent company of Primark in ABF 2016 Corporate Responsibility Update. “However, our decentralised structure, combined with the wide range of our activities, means it is not straightforward for people outside the Company to assess the difference we make to society. That is why we have begun to explore how we can better measure what we do so that we might provide more credible and tangible evidence of our impact.”

But is Primark doing enough? FashionUnited shares its findings in its first long-form story looking into the value retailer’s sustainability and ethical initiatives.

About Primark

• Primark is a major retail group. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the name Penney’s.
• It operates stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, France, Italy and the US, directly employing 68,000 people.
• As of FY2016 it operated 325 stores in 11 countries - Primark does not have an online store.
• Primark offers customers quality, up-to-the-minute fashion at value-for-money prices.
• Primark’s expansive product range includes womenswear, lingerie, childrenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, beauty, hosiery and homeware.
• Primark’s buying and merchandising teams in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) and Reading (UK) travel internationally to source and buy fashion items that best reflect each season’s key fashion trends.

Visual Credits

• Infographic timeline Primark: FashionUnited
• Rana Plaza disaster photo: AFP. Credit: Zakir Hossain Chowdhury / ANADOLU AGENCY
• Podcast: Primark Offers Compensation to Dhaka Factory Victims. Credit: PRI’s The World
• Video: PRIMARK | Rana Plaza: Kushi Mela. Credit: Primark
• Video: Primark - There is nothing like us on the high street. Credit: ABF plc
• Photo: Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. Credit: Primark.
• Milan, Italy Primark store photo. Credit: Primark.
• Milan, Italy Primark in-store photo. Credit: Primark.

What impact does Primark’s Code of Conduct really have?

Even before the Rana Plaza factory collapse, one of Primark’s main points of focus looked to improve safety standards and worker wellbeing for all its employees around the world. Primark operates using a common set of global standards in all its sourcing hubs, known as its Code of Conduct 2 . This set of guiding principles is based on the internationally recognised labour standards from the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 3 and the ETI’s Base Code. Primark’s Code of Conduct lays out the core principles their suppliers and their factories must adhere to when it comes to working conditions, such as working hours, fair wages and workers’ rights in order to do business with them. In addition, Primark also works with the ILO Better Work Programme 4 in countries such as Vietnam, which aims to help factories meet and uphold international working standards. But just how reliable is Primark’s Code of Conduct?

“Almost all companies have a Code of Conduct, it is just a formality” Tara Scally, Campaign Coordinator, Clean Clothes Campaign

“Primark’s Code is much in line with Fair Wear Foundation Code of Labour Practices,” points out Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer at the Fair Wear Foundation 5 (FWF). Primark shares a number of core principles within its Code of Conduct with the Fair Wear Foundation Code. For example, each Code states employment must be freely chosen, no child labour, and the freedom to form and join trade unions - all standards derived from the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights 6 .

However, although Primark’s Code of Conduct remains an internationally recognised code of labour conduct, ensuring all its eight principles are consistently upheld at all of its suppliers around the world is another issue in its own right. “Almost all companies have a Code of Conduct, it is just a formality,” counters Tara Scally, Campaign Coordinator for the Dutch branch of the Clean Clothes Campaign 7 (CCC). “This written down reality says nothing about what is really happening within the supply chain. More transparency is needed to verify if the claims being made in Code of Conducts are really true.”

Primark’s approach to due diligence and factory audits

For example in order to ensure that all garment workers understand Primark’s Code of Conduct, which can be difficult in countries such as Bangladesh where many workers are illiterate, Primark has developed posters together with local charities. These posters depict the separate principles of the Code of Conduct in a cartoon-style images which can easily be understood by all workers. Primark also consulted with workers to ensure the posters were displayed in the best possible areas throughout the factories for maximum impact. “We are trying to look collaboratively as to what best practice looks like to build a framework to offer suppliers a consistent message on how this is the standard, and what implementation looks like. Because if there is no support on the systematic implementation of such initiatives, then it makes all the more challenging for suppliers,” says Stewart. “What we see on the social side, is that everyone has very similar Codes of Conduct, but various degrees of implementation - which makes it harder for everyone.”

“[Primark’s] in-house teams delivered over 11,000 hours of supplier training in China, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan” Associated British Foods, Parent Company of Primark, Corporate Responsibility 2016 Report

The value retailer makes sure each supplier it works with has a full formal audit once a year, which is carried out by Primark’s own team or approved external auditors. These audits, which can be announced before hand or not, include confidential worker interviews. This is of vital importance in countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan where women make up 80 percent of the workforce. Female garment workers often face numerous issues such as sexual harassment, threats of violence and prejudice within the workplace. In a factory setting, where the management team usually male dominated, female workers can be pressured to work overtime without pay to reach production targets, or denied the right to maternity or sick leave. Without confidential worker interviews, many of these workers who fear losing their jobs - usually their only means of an income - may never share their real working experience with suppliers clients.

However, some worry that confidential worker interviews and audits are not enough to protect vulnerable garment workers. “Primark should focus on building a solid, long-term relationship with their suppliers based on trust; ensuring labour unions are allowed within the factories they source from and are protected enough so they can do their work freely without threats, or harassment,” notes Scally. “Strong union representation can bring labour violations to light. But very often union members are threatened or fired for the work they do. Brands like Primark should use their power to make sure union members are protected.” Scally also encourages Primark to join a multi-stakeholder initiative, like FWF, who can verify what is really happening in the supply chain. “Off-site worker interviews by trusted organizations will more likely reveal the truth than company organized visits.”

However Primark does not tackle it’s factory audits alone. It’s own in-house teams are supported by independent, third-party auditing companies, which are said to be “critical” to ensuring Primark upholds its monitoring standards. “We pay for all our audits ourselves as well,” adds Stewart. “Our reason for doing so is to control and retain the integrity of them.” Usually suppliers contact an external party of their own choosing when conducting a factory audit. By paying for their own audit Primark is able to ensure the integrity of the audit is not influenced by any external factors and gain a clear picture of actual working conditions.

How transparent is Primark’s supply chain?

Unlike some fashion retailers, Primark does not publicly share its audit reports, which raises numerous questions on what exactly Primark is doing to ensure the rights of its garment workers are protected. Fashion supply chains tend to be very long and complex, involving thousands of workers across the board. As Primark does not directly own any of the factories or suppliers it works with, an overall lack of transparency concerning their audit reports can make it hard to ensure their core working principles are constantly being maintained. “Unfortunately, Primark does not enclose their supplier list which makes it really hard to verify if what they communicate about their supply chain is actually true,” continues Scally. “On their website, under ‘Our Ethics,’ 8 Primark claims that all factories are inspected and audited. But the inspection reports are not made public, so it is impossible to verify if these inspections are really taking place; what is monitored; what problems are found and what corrective actions come out of these audits.”

“Being honest about the issues and problems and the steps brands are taking to improve labour conditions, is key,” adds Schuurman. “Our members have to share that in yearly public reports, and we assess their performance, which is also published. Primark is part of the Better Work programme and a full member of ETI - all positive initiatives which can contribute to better labour conditions. From what I’ve seen is they are grading their factories based on their own audits. It would be interesting to see how they followed up on the audit findings.”

“It is impossible for us to know the full scope of its audit programme or how frequently individual factories are audited,” adds Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 9 .“The brand does state that all its suppliers must comply with its Code of Conduct, and are audited before any orders are placed.” Primark maintains it keeps its audit reports finding private to maintain the “authenticity” of their results - not even the factories and suppliers audited are given full access to Primark’s audit reports. Instead, they receive external feedback from Primark and a checklist of areas they may need to improve on going forward. “That way they know what to focus on and we can protect certain parts, such as the confidentiality interviews,” explains Stewart. “I think that this is something we made a decision on very early on and it gives us the confidence that the audit paints a clear picture of what is going on in that factory at that point in time.”

For example, if an audit finds that factory workers are working more than the allowed overtime per week, Primark will work together with the factory managers to create a more flexible schedule, giving workers less overtime. Primark will then follow up with the factory in question at a later date, either through a pre-announced check or a spot-check, to ensure the issues have been handled effectively. “We try to be proactive and helpful partners when it comes to audits,” points out Stewart. “Some factories need help improving certain areas, so we make sure we work together with them by explaining the implications and solutions on the audit checklist.” Primark also runs an online supplier management system which offers training programmes on how suppliers can improve their working standards.

“Transparency is essential for accountability and credibility” Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer, Fair Wear Foundation

But the lack of transparency Primark has concerning its supply chain and workers is still problematic for many organisations. “Transparency is essential for accountability and credibility,” counters Schuurman. “Yet it is also a challenge for garment and textile companies, who consider their competitive advantage to lie partially in their unique supply chain decisions – for example, where they are placing orders, prices paid and forecasting. Our experience is that transparency often can be among the most difficult requirements for companies that want to do good. However, some pioneering companies, like Filippa K and Nudie Jeans are beginning to break this mould and commonly report their factory lists, audit outcomes, and other data. But there is still a lot to do in this regard.”

One of the reasons Primark does not intend to publicly share the names of all their suppliers is precisely because of their competitive edge. “We’ve always said that we have worked very hard with our suppliers,” notes Stewart. “We currently feel that information is competitive intel we do not want to share. But we do share our supplier information with other partners we are in collaboration with, for example with the Bangladesh Accord 10 . By sharing our supplier base information it enables the Accord to map all the factories that everyone is using in the region as effectively as possible. So we are sharing that information - we are just not making it public. We do share information on which countries we are sourcing from with the public, but not specific factories.”

Primark’s battle against modern day slavery in its supply chains

Rather than cutting ties with suppliers who do employ vulnerable refugees, Primark works with suppliers and local partners to help them get papers for legal employment and proper payment. NGOs and trade organisations agree that this, as well as working with trade unions, is key for any fashion retailer in tackling cases of forced labour in developing countries. “Building a solid, long-term relationship with their suppliers based on trust; paying their supplier a fair price for their products; ensuring labour unions are allowed within the factories they source from and are protected enough so they can do their work freely without being harassed are all key to tackling forced labour in the supply chain,” says Scally. “Strong union representation can bring labour violations to light. But very often union members are threatened or fired for the work they do. Garment brands should use their power to make sure union members are protected.”

“As a business we care about the impact. For us it’s about making sure that the people who touch the supply chain are looked after” Katharine Stewart, Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability, Primark

Primark does what it can do to help workers employed without the proper legal papers, but in the case of undisclosed sub-contracting, where approved suppliers outsource production to unapproved factories which use methods of forced labour, the value retailer takes decisive action, as it takes any breaches “extremely seriously.” Over the years Primark has ensured that they work with local organisations in all of its sourcing locations in order to create a support net for any employment challenges that may occur, according to Stewart. For example, in India, Primark is working together with local partners like the Association for Stimulating Know How 11 (ASK) in one of its main suppliers, Jeyavishnu Mill, to improve its recruitment process. “As a business we care about the impact. For us it’s about making sure that the people who touch the supply chain, whether it’s the workers or the communities or the environment we operate in, are looked after.”

However, despite of all its initiatives aimed at modern slavery issues, Primark is still regularly accused of sourcing from sweatshops and forced labour camps. For example, back in 2014 and 2015 British shoppers are said to have found letters and hand stitched labels in garments pleading for help, which aimed to raise awareness for the terrible conditions workers were apparently forced to endure. After reaching out to the shoppers who found these letters and labels and conducting its own research, Primark claimed the distress calls were all part of an elaborate hoax looking to sully its name.

In addition, Primark failed to score very high in the first ‘Corporate Human Rights Benchmark’ 12 , the first public ranking of corporate human rights performance. Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) is listed in the 20-29 percent band range, together with the likes of Next, Kering and TJX Companies. The ranking awarded Primark points for having appropriate policies in place against excessive overtime, forced labour and child labour, but did not award any points to Primark later on, as they did not take sufficient action against alleged impacts of these issues. According to the ranking, the large majority of the low performing companies , which includes ABF, are “falling overwhelmingly behind, with all the dangers for human rights abuse of workers and communities that this implies.”

But these rankings have not discouraged Primark from looking for new ways to improve the wellbeing of its garment workers in developing markets. In early 2016, the retailer started a new partnership with the Department for International Development 13 (DFID), which sees the two combining their presence, networks and expertise to boost the overall wellbeing of their workers in five of the retailer’s key markets - Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, Ethiopia and India. A key part of the programme focuses on sharing lessons Primark and DFID learnt following the Rana Plaza incident, including the retailer’s initiatives with local partners to provide both long-term and short-term aid. “At Primark, we are committed to ensuring that the people who make our products work in good conditions, are treated properly and paid a fair wage,” says Paul Lister, Head of Primark’s Ethical Trading Team in a statement. “We know that as well as ensuring worker rights are protected within the factories we work with, we can positively impact lives outside of the factory too. Whether it’s financial literacy, health education or helping workers understand their rights, we’ve seen that simple initiatives with local partners can make a huge difference.”

• The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs which promotes respect for workers' rights across the globe.
• Primark’s Code of Conduct incorporates the United Nations Charter, Chapter IX, article 55 and all suppliers of products to Primark must agree to follow the Code of Conduct.
• International Labour Organization (ILO) brings together governments, employers and workers representatives of 187 member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
• The Better Work Programme is a partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)which aims to improve labour standards and competitiveness in global supply chains.
• The Fair Wear Foundation works with brands, factories, trade unions, NGOs and sometimes governments to verify and improve workplace conditions in 11 production countries in Asia, Europe and Africa. FWF keeps track of the improvements made by the companies it works with.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Created by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.
• Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) is a global alliance of trade unions and NGOs. The CCC works together with numerous partners across the world to improve working conditions and the empowerment of workers in the textile and apparel industry.
• Primark’s Ethics page .
• Project JUST is an open platform dedicated to informing and empowering consumers have the power to transform the fashion industry to an ethical and sustainable one with each purchase.
• The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the Accord) is a five year independent, legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions designed to build a safe and healthy Bangladeshi Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry.
• Association for Stimulating Know How (ASK) is a capacity building, self-supporting, voluntary organisation working nation-wide across India, as well as Internationally to promote the best interests of marginalized groups and societies.
• The 2017 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assesses 98 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world on 100 human rights indicators.
• Department for International Development leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty, tackling global challenges such as disease, mass migration and poverty.
• Infographics/visuals: FashionUnited
• Bangladesh posters: These posters were created in conjunction with workers, with support from SHEVA NARI O SHISHU KALLYAN KENDRA. Copyright Primark Stores LTD 2012.
• Photo: Workers sewing in Indian Garment Factory.
• Video: The garment industry in Bangladesh: Made in Bangladesh | Primark 2014. Credit: Primark

What Primark is doing to improve the lives & wages of its garment workers

At the moment Primark does not purchase any raw cotton directly from farmers, as it does not directly own any mills or factories. Nevertheless cotton, a natural fibre, makes up a large percentage of its apparel range, even though it remains a labour and resource intensive product. Although it is grown on large-scale industrial farms in certain regions, in most cases the cotton used to make textiles and apparel comes from small farms in low-income countries, such as India, China and Pakistan. In these regions a lot of the knowledge concerning the best practices for growing cotton, as well as the most environmental friendly tactics available to do so, tends to be rather limited. Which is why Primark decided to partner with agriculture experts, CottonConnect 1 , and the Self-Employed Women’s Association to launch the Sustainable Cotton pilot Programme in 2013.

“Cotton for us is a priority given the amount we use” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

“The reason we started our Sustainable Cotton Pilot programme four years ago is because cotton is one of the main fibres we use in our products, and we wanted to achieve greater visibility in our cotton supply chain to better understand how it works,” says Katherine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. “We wanted to develop a deeper understanding concerning the manufacturing processes behind cotton.” The programme was originally designed to introduce sustainable farming methods, improve cotton yields and increase the cotton farmers income. At the same time Primark decided to exclusively work with female cotton farmers in Gujarat, Northern India during the pilot because they realised many other cotton initiatives lacked gender focus. India currently ranks 130 out of 188 countries in the UN’s Gender Inequality Index, as gender equality is seen as one of the most pressing development challenges facing the country.

Primark’s sustainable cotton pilot has been applauded by numerous international organisations as it focused on the environmental impact of growing cotton, such as the farmers use of water, chemicals and their effects on soil and aimed to improve cotton production by using less water, less chemicals and less pesticides. “In short, we were looking to decrease the cotton farmers input costs, but increase yield of cotton and income and improve their overall lives and health,” continues Stewart. “I think that the results of the pilot in relationship to the impact they’ve had on the cotton farmers have been significant - they’ve just been phenomenal.”

• Average farmer profit increased 247 percent during its third year.
• Input costs were reduced by 19.2 percent on average,
• Use of chemical fertilisers were reduced by 40 percent,
• Use of chemical pesticides were reduced by 44 percent,
• Water usage was decreased by 10 percent.

“The reported results show that working with farmers at this level can have a number of positive impacts on yields, chemical and water use reduction and increased income,” says Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 2 . “Considering that the majority of Primark’s products are made from cotton, we would suggest the brand dramatically increase its initiatives in this area by supporting similar programmes to achieve 100 percent sustainably grown cotton.” In fact, the results of the cotton pilot programme were so successful they exceeded all Primark's expectations, which is why the value retailer has expanded the programme to support an additional 10,000 farmers in Gujarat over the next six years. Primark has already begun to train 5,000 new cotton farmers and plans to scale this up in time.

How Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Program is impacting the lives of female cotton farmers

“The reported results show that working with farmers at this level can have a number of positive impacts” Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST

However, this boost in income also brought on a new set of concerns for the female cotton farmers who participate in the pilot, as they were not used to managing a large cash flow. “So now we have implemented our Farmer Field School to help them manage their own income and run their own businesses.” By offering these female farmers advice and guidance on how they can best manage their income and oversee their cash flow, Primark aims to ensure the cotton workers become financially independent. For Stewart, the community impact of the programme and the knowledge the farmers have gained thanks to the programme has been the most rewarding to witness.

“It’s a ripple effect and quite incredible to see, because they may have a neighbour who grows cumin and now are able to share knowledge on which chemical or natural pesticides are best to use. For me, it’s really all about education. Because if you give someone an education, it stays with them and that’s sustainable.” She stressed that the cotton project focuses on giving farmers a hand up, not a hand down in the form of free seeds, or pesticides or equipment. In addition the Farmers Field School has made Primark realise how important education truly is for farmers and what impact it can have on their lives.

Primark has published the results of their sustainable cotton programme on their website, as well as personal stories from the farmers themselves, but Stewart admits the company is still learning on how to take what they have learned from the pilot all the way through to end production to bring it to scale. “It’s still early days, but it’s going very well...the whole process is a journey of understanding. But now that we have a formula that we know works, we can start to look at how we can do that in different locations.” For now Primark has chosen to localise their efforts in Northern India, but it has not ruled out expanding the programme to other countries. “One of our long-term goals is to source all of our cotton more sustainably,” says Stewart.

“[Sustainability] is not about little capsule collections. It is about sharing how we do it and then moving it to scale” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

However, Primark’s sustainable cotton programme is not its only initiative in place aimed at empowering and educating its female garment workers. For example, one initiative started by Primark together with Health Enables Returns 3 (HERHealth) and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) in China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar aims to educate female garment workers on their health needs and support them in learning. To date over 800 female workers have been coached and they in turn have taught more than 20,000 women.

Another programme that Primark has had in place since 2009, focuses on enriching the lives of its workers, and sees the value retailer working together with Social Awareness and Voluntary Education 4 (SAVE) to educate its workers in Southern India. The programme helps raise awareness on a wide range of topics, such as the importance of children's education, financial planning, general health and workers rights through the formation of worker education groups. In total 6,279 workers in 436 groups have been trained through the programme since 2009, which has impacted the lives of approximately 30,000 garment workers.

But how sustainable is Primark’s sourced cotton?

In addition, the fashion retailer received the worst score on the Ethical Consumer 5 rating, an independent public consumer rating, for its cotton supply chain. Primark previously signed the Responsible Sourcing Network’s Cotton Pledge 6 , and in doing so committed to not knowingly source any cotton from Uzbekistan 7 - one of the world’s largest exporters of cotton - for the manufacturing of its products. However, the Government of Uzbekistan forces more than a million people 8 to work in the cotton fields each harvesting season and numerous reports highlight cases of human rights violations and forced child labour are “rife”in Uzbek cotton production. Although Primark has pledged not to knowingly source cotton from Uzbekistan, it does not seem to have any secure policy in place to guarantee it is not sourcing cotton from there, raising concerns about traceability and transparency within Primark’s supply chain once more.

The steps Primark is taking to improve garment workers wages

As a leading member of ETI, Primark’s Code of Conduct is founded on the ETI Base Code which stresses that “wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmarks, whichever is higher. In any event, wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.” Primark states it requires all its suppliers to adhere to this definition for all workers within its supply chain. For the value retailer, a living wage is seen as one which includes the total cost of living, healthcare, food, education and housing. Primark adds that it does acknowledge the inherent challenges in defining and calculating a living wage, but it believes that a “negotiated approach” remains the most practical and sustainable move and supports the development of all industrial strides taken to achieve this.

Acting as an agent and intermediary between banks and customers, Geosansar and Primark have aided workers in opening a bank account for the first time. In order to ensure garment workers can have easy access to their bank accounts, Geosansar bank kiosks are located close to factories and worker communities. The partnership, which sees Primark and Geosansar also provide financial education, as well as access to banking, has helped over 400 workers.

But is Primark doing enough to boost wages for garment workers?

While Primark’s work does show that the retailer is committed to improving wages for its garment workers, the value retailer seems to be stuck at the strategy level and research stage and has yet to begin developing long term building blocks to paying livable wages. For example, Cambodia was the first country in which the ACT initiative began its first process to develop an industry-wide collective bargaining for higher wages. In September 2015, an ACT delegation, which consisted of IndustriALL and leading representatives from Primark, H&M and Inditex travelled to Cambodia to meet with suppliers, garment unions, the Labour Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce and the garment manufacturers association of Cambodia. However, since then there have been no further updates or concrete outcomes on record of what exactly has been done to date. “Work is in the early stages,” notes Stewart, so it has yet to be seen what, if any achievable impact, the initiative has on the wages of garment workers.

So while Primark’s work does show that the retailer is committed to improving wages for its garment workers, the retailer seems stuck at the strategy level and research stage and has yet to begin developing long term building blocks to paying livable wages. “Brands should take wages out of the competition and start working together on payment of a living wage,” stresses Tara Scally, Dutch Campaign Coordinator Clean Clothes Campaign 11 . “Fair Wear Foundation 12 has done interesting research revealing the possibilities. Brands could also work together on other labour rights issues, such as supporting labour unions, setting up worker committees, setting realistic workloads and working hours...Primark should be more transparent in their sustainability efforts. Publicly showing their wage calculations would be a good start.”

”One brand cannot single handedly raise wages for the workers who make their clothes” Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer at the Fair Wear Foundation

Other NGOs agree that the key to implementing fair, livable wages within the industry’s supply chain lies within collaboration. “One brand cannot single handedly reduce overtime or raise wages for the workers who make their clothes,” says Lotte Schuurman, Communications Officer at the Fair Wear Foundation. “Brands can work very hard on improving their purchasing practices - on forecasting, on production planning – all of which can reduce their risk of causing overtime - but if they are a small player and other brands have poor management practices, the results on the factory floor can still be disappointing. That’s why collaborative action is so important. Where possible we encourage our members –and all other garment brands- to increase leverage. Hence whenever we see that there are more member companies sourcing from the same factories, we encourage them to exchange information on audits, remediate together and cooperate on further improvement plans.”

• Cotton Connect is an enterprise which aims to transform the cotton industry for good, working with brands and retailers to enable them to develop a more robust and resilient cotton supply chain.
• Project JUST is an open platform dedicated to informing and empowering consumers to have the power to transform the fashion industry to an ethical and sustainable one with each purchase they make.
• HERHealth is part of HERProject, an initiative from the BSR which aims to increase the ability of low-income women to take charge of their health.
• Social Awareness and Voluntary Education is an NGO which aims to tackle child labour practices and empower female garment workers.
• The Ethical Consumer is an independent, not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder co-operative with open membership, which provides tools and resources to consumers to make informed purchase choices.
• Company Pledge Against Forced Labor in the Uzbek Cotton Sector
• End Uzbek Cotton Crimes is one of many organisations trying to raise awareness for the humantarian issues at work within Uzbekistan cotton production.
• According to the Cotton Campaign the Uzbek and Turkmen governments force farmers to grow cotton and citizens to pick cotton, all under threat of penalty, including the loss of land, job loss, expulsion from school, and docked pay. In Uzbekistan, more than a million school teachers, doctors, nurses and other citizens are victims of forced labor each year.
• Action, Collaboration, Transformation (ACT) is an initiative between international brands and retailers, manufacturers, and trade unions to address the issue of living wages in the textile and garment supply chain.
• Geosansar offers financial education and services to the those without a bank India. Supported by the State Bank of India, Geosansar provides bank accounts and bank branches in worker communities.
• Photos: Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme. Credit: Primark.
• Video: PRIMARK | Farmer Case Study – Hiru’s Story. Credit: Primark
• Video: Primark HERproject. Credit: Primark
• Video: Bank Accounts for Workers. Credit: Primark
• Infographic Living Wage: Clean Clothes Campaign, Tailored wages report 2014.

What Primark is doing to produce clothing with the least amount of harm to the environment

“Our aim is for all our stores to be as sustainable as possible with the technology and infrastructure that’s available at the time” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

“Primark is committed to reducing the impact of our operations on the environment and has implemented a number of sustainability initiatives across the business, including environmental health and safety audits, energy audits, central building management system to optimize energy consumption, LED lighting, extensive employee training, extended producer responsibility measures and waste recycling programmes,” explains Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. For example, Primark has a team of specialist auditors who conduct audits in all of its stores across 11 countries. The team works together to make sure each location is fully compliant with the regulatory requirements and that the value retailer continues to meet accepted good practices within the retail industry. The audits include onsite waste management practices, review of store emissions and ensuring all equipment is properly maintained.

Primark also conducts energy audits in all its stores and reviews how much energy each store consumes. The value retailer was even awarded the Carbon Trust Energy Standard 1 in recognition of its continued commitment to energy efficiency in its stores in 2014. Thanks to its energy-efficiency projects, Primark’s store energy intensity, which is measured by kilowatt-hour (kWh) per square foot, has been reduced by 11 percent since 2015. Primark has saved approximately 30 million kWh of energy through its bespoke software system called ERICC (Energy Reduction Information and Control Console). The ERICC system offers real-time information on the primary energy drivers within any store and indicates how a store should be performing from an energy management point of view. “All Primark staff complete online training as part of their induction on Environmental Health and Safety,” adds Stewart. “This includes guidance on onsite environmental health and safety issues, as well as waste and energy management.”

In addition Primark has also achieved the Carbon Trust Standard for Waste for its waste management systems in store and is working to assume direct control over as much of its recyclable materials used during packing and transport as possible. For example, Primark established a resource recovery unit in its German depot centre in July 2015, where cardboard, plastic and hangers are collected from its Northern European stores to be reprocessed and sent for recycling. The value retailer has had a similar system in place in the UK for a number of years now, which ensures all recyclables are collected from its stores via its delivery trucks and transported back to the central distribution centre. As Primark has become more actively involved in the recycling process of its materials, it has been able to significantly reduce the volume and frequency of waste collections at each store and aims to expand this system to additional regions. “Last financial year, 94 percent of waste generated by all of Primark’s stores and warehouses was recycled or beneficially reused,” points out Stewart.

But what about Primark’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

According to Associated British Foods Corporate Responsibility Report for 2016 2 , Primark’s GHG emissions have increased by 15 percent over the last three years. Primark’s GHG emissions grew 3 percent alone last year, as the value retailer attributes this growth to its expanding network of stores across Europe and the United States, leading to more transport movements of its products. At the moment 57 percent of all Primark’s GHG emissions result from the transporting of its goods and as Primark continues to grow, this percentage is only likely to increase. Primark notes it is constantly reviewing its routes, type of vehicles used and shared services to ensure it minimise miles and the resultant emissions as the company expands. But the value fashion retailer has yet to explore alternative solutions or set itself fixed goals in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

“In order for Primark to improve their practices to be more sustainable, we believe they need to address the full scope of these inputs” Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST

Although Primark has been transparent with its energy efficiency and waste management, it is clear the value retailer still has some ways to go to ensuring both its supply chain and vast store network become more sustainable. “Sustainability is a complex issue,” stresses Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 3 . “It involves looking at a product's full set of inputs, including raw material, water, energy and chemical use, along with the social inputs, manufacturing, consumer use and end-of-life. Taking into consideration fast-fashion’s current business model, which is focused on high volume, low price and disposable products, this cannot by definition nor intention, go hand in hand with sustainability,” she adds. “In order for Primark, or any fast fashion brand, to improve their practices to be more sustainable, we believe they need to address the full scope of these inputs. We would suggest the brand show leadership by setting goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for its manufacturing supply chain, and start to introduce the use of renewable energy, along with increasing its use of sustainable fibres, increasing transparency of its supply chain and working to increase the percentage of its First Tier suppliers that comply with its Code of Conduct .”

Primark’s stance on recycling textiles and sustainable fibres

In addition to working with SCAP and ECAP, Primark has been running a clothing recycling pilot for the past few months in selected stores in Germany and the UK together with I:CO 7 . The pilot was well received by Primark’s shoppers in the test stores, and at the moment Primark is currently working out all the legal requirements to roll out the initiative to all its stores in all its markets. “We probably do not realise the full potential of the recycling programme yet, as we have not been advertising it,” says Stewart. “But we have been very pleased with the trial and our decision to roll it out.” Stewart notes that they may have to adopt a slightly different model in the US due to legal reasons, but they aim to have a similar system in place overseas. Primark is not the first fashion high street retailer to initiate an in-store recycling scheme with I:CO, but one key difference between the Primark clothing recycling pilot and other fashion retailers textile recycling programmes is the customer incentive. Rather than giving customers a discount voucher for their next purchase in-store, Primark gave customers an organic cotton bag in return for a clothing donation. “[Giving a voucher] just seems a little counter-intuitive in my opinion.”

Primark’s partnership with I:CO is a good example of how collaboration can bring around positive change in terms of sustainability. However, in order to reach its goal of creating clothing with the least amount of harm done to the environment, the value retailer should be looking into additional avenues to increase its use of sustainable resources, as well as its use of recycled materials. At the moment it remains unclear what percentage of Primark’s apparel collections consist of recycled materials, or if they use recycled fibres in their clothing at all, an area which they should consider moving into according to international organisations. “We would suggest Primark increase its use of sustainable fibres, including developing further sustainable cotton programmes and using recycled fibres, along with tencel and modal instead of the less sustainable viscose fibre,” says FitzGerald. “We would suggest Primark share the long term intentions of its recycling program, the anticipated impact of diverting these textiles from the waste stream and the current and future destination of the textiles collected from these programs.”

Next to its textile and garment recycling initiative, Primark has been working with two organisations to efficiently manage its textile waste while helping those in need. “The one in the UK, which covers all our European stores, is Newlife 8 , a foundation which supports children who are either terminally ill or very physical disabled,” explains Stewart. “All the stock we have in store which we can’t sell, all our buying office samples and excess stock, is donated to Newlife.” Primark first started working with Newlife in 2010, and since then has managed to generate more than 2 million pounds in donations, which has been used to purchase equipment such as wheelchairs, nurse services and fund medical research. “In the States we set up a similar model with an organisation called KIDS Fashion Delivers 9 .” All of Primark’s stores in the US have been donating their excess stock to the non-profit organisation since 2015, which goes to those in need in 50 states throughout America. In addition Primark’s European stores donated a total of 100,000 cartons apparel goods to the European Red Cross Refugee Appeal 10 in 2015 to help refugees and migrants.

Is Primark doing enough in terms of sustainability with its excess stock?

The value retailer disagrees with this opinion, as Stewart says Primark has invested a lot in improving the quality of its garments over the last few years. However, the opposing views on the quality of Primark’s clothing does not change the fact that a large percentage of its clothing - as well as that produced by other fast-fashion retailers - ends up going to waste once it is discarded by consumers. According to WRAP, approximately 140 million pounds worth of used clothing is sent to landfills in the UK each year - accounting for 30 percent of consumers unwanted clothing. “It is a shame that so much hard work of workers worldwide ends up as waste,” Tara Scally, Dutch Campaign Coordinator for Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) 11 . “This does not do justice to the hard working garment workers, but into the production of the clothing. Many workers take pride in the work they do and the clothing they make and do not deserve to be exploited as they are now. Brands should plan accordingly so no garments go to waste.”

What Primark is doing to cut down its use of chemicals

“Our objective is to have full traceability from all Primark supply chain partners of upstream manufacturing, product and chemical inventory information for every point in the supply chain” Primark’s Chemical Management Programme Roadmap, 2015/2016

Primark also supports the Partnership for Cleaner Textile industry (PaCT) 16 , a holistic programme which supports the Bangladesh wet textile processing factories in adopting cleaner production methods. Twelve factories have already benefited from the programme to date, and an additional seven are currently benefitting from the PaCT training through Primark’s nominations. The training focuses on denim and jersey production, paying attention to the environmental impact of the main technologies used during the dyeing and washing processes. “We actively engage with our suppliers, chemical experts, other retailers and organisations to help bring about sustainable change,” states Primark in its Corporate Responsibility Report 2016. “We provide suppliers and their factories with formal training, tools and support to enable improvements to be made throughout the manufacturing process.”

However, in spite of the numerous initiatives Primark has undertaken to combat its chemical usage, the value retailer may not be able to reach its Detox commitment to Greenpeace by 2020. “Please note, Greenpeace no longer recognized Primark as a Detox Leader,” says FitzGerald. “The most recent report released in July 2016, ranks Primark in ‘Evolution Mode’, with Greenpeace stating that although the brand performs well on the elimination of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and transparency, it fails to take individual responsibility for the main tools it needs to meet its Detox 2020 plan.” The report notes that Primark chooses to rely on the ZDHC’s “flawed methodology”, which means the retailer is not selecting new target chemicals for eradication, or ensuring when it does test for their elimination, it is as close to possible to ‘zero.’ Greenpeace encourages Primark to adopt a “clean factory” approach, which sees chemical elimination targets applied to suppliers entire factory floor and not just to Primark’s own production lines.

Primark’s stance on a Circular Economy

“Additionally, other fast fashion brands are researching circularity, where used garments can be returned to the brand, the garment broken down (either mechanically or chemically) and respun into new yarn, then made into a new garment,” adds FitzGerald. “Circularity addresses the problem of increased consumption and disposal of limited resources. This technology is still in development for the process to work at scale, but there is exciting potential here for a large reduction in garments being sent to landfill, and the decreased use of virgin raw materials.” She encourages Primark to start looking into future options for implementing a circular economy, similar to the goal set by rival fast-fashion retailer H&M.

When asked on Primark’s current opinion on adopting a circular business model, Stewart acknowledges that it is an area the value retailer is exploring, but is not ready to take on as a future goal. “We are looking at it. The thing about Primark is that we communicate the things that we have done - rather than the things we want to do,” explains Stewart. “It’s a bit brutal, considering we do have a lot of future goals, but that’s how it is. If you think about the cotton project for example, we only started communicating that last year, when we have been working on it for three years. We want to be able talk about the things we have done and show what results we have achieved. I think it is a bit hard to talk about things you might do in the future because the challenge is keeping up with the ever-changing world. Circular economy - we will talk about that when we have something we have done about it.”

• The Carbon Trust Standard is the world'sleading independent certification of an organisation’s impact on the environment by verifying action on the three primary components of environmental sustainability: energy use and associated greenhouse gas (CO2e) emissions, water use and waste output.
• Associated British Foods Corporate Responsibility Report 2016
• Project JUST is an open platform dedicated to informing and empowering consumers have the power to transform the fashion industry to an ethical and sustainable one with each purchase they make.
• The Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) is a collaborative framework and voluntary commitment to achieve industry-led targets for reducing the use of resources in the apparel clothing.
• WRAP works together with governments, businesses and communities to offer practical solutions to improve resource efficiency to move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy.
• The European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP) is a Life funded project supported by WRAP, which aims to reduce clothing waste across Europe and embed a circular economy approach.
• I:CO works with retailers to implement a take-back system in-store which makes it possible to collect used clothing and shoes at a store’s point-of-sale and give them a new life through re-use or recycling.
• Newlife Foundation is a registered UK charity which supports disabled and terminally ill children and their families.
• KIDS Fashion Delivers is a charity which donated new products to families in need across the US.
• The Red Cross is working across Europe to help the millions refugees and migrants displaced from conflicted areas such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Nigeria.
• Primark's restricted substance lists Product Restricted Substance List and Manufacturing Restricted Substance List.
• Greenpeace's Global Detox Campaign aims to elimate the use of hazardous chemicals from numerous industries, including the fashion industry to end toxic environmental pollution.
• The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is the apparel, footwear and home textile industry main alliance for sustainable production, whose main focus is creating the Higg Index, a standardized supply chain measurement tool for all industry participants to understand the environmental, social, labour impact of making and sell products.
• The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) is a joint roadmap of brands committed to defining and developing a manufacturing restricted substances list for the fashion industry.
• The Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) is a partnership led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which drived the long-term competitiveness and environmental sustainability of the textile wet processing sector by addressing water, energy and chemical use.
• Photo: Manchester store. Credit: Primark
• Photo factory via Pexels. Credit: Pixabay
• Video: An introduction to Love Your Clothes. Credit: Love Your Clothes
• Video: I:CO | RETHINK. RECYCLE. REWARD. Credit: I:CO spirit
• Photo: Industrial textile factory - © Lucian Coman | Dreamstime.com© Poco_bw | Dreamstime.com Industrial Textile Factory Photo
• Photo: Primark store in Madrid. Credit: Primark
• Photo: Primark store Venlo. Credit: Primark

How Primark is improving its workers well-being and educational initiatives

For example, Primark is working on improving its injury rate as part of its wider scheme to boost its safety performance, according to its Corporate Responsibility Report 2016. The value retailer states it is targeting efforts in certain countries where national safety standards differ from its own standards, but does not outline in detail which countries it is focusing on at the moment. However, Primark does ensure that all its workers undertake an online health and safety induction programme in their local language, at a time and pace which is suitable for them. The programme covers key issues workers should be aware of, such as health and safety responsibilities, hazard identification, and manual handling. In addition to the online course, Primark’s safety platform also includes additional information on safety topics, like office safety and emergency procedures. Primark also runs its Retail Manager Development Programme (RMDP), a bespoke supervisor development programme in the UK and northern Europe and is in the process of rolling it out to its other countries.

In addition, Primark launched a wellbeing programme in its head office in Dublin in July 2015, which currently offers 20 classes a week in its own exercise studio. Primark also increased the number of fun, team-based projects with employees to boost direct engagement, which led to over 100 employees taking part in the wellbeing summer challenge. The retailer has also been expanding its ‘back of house’ environment in both new and existing stores to ensure store staff have a positive work space. As Primark has also expanded into new regions over the last few years, the retailer has ensured that all its new locations are supported by safety specialists who help uphold its safety standards. All senior members of staff have been trained to make sure safety culture and employee well being are embedded into role descriptions and that workers follow a thorough training programme before being allowed to work the shop floor.

But how responsible are Primark’s in-store working conditions?

• Primark opened it first store in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2008.
• Primark currently counts 16 stores across the country, including its flagship store in Amsterdam.
• Primark employs a total of approximately 4,800 workers in the Netherlands.

"You are constantly hounded and monitored by managers and supervisors to work faster/better” Anonymous Primark Employee from Amsterdam, FNV online survey

In addition, 81 percent of respondents said they felt that Primark was missing a workers council who could negotiate agreements on their behalf concerning use of store cameras in relation to their privacy - even though the council is required by law in the Netherlands for any company with more than 50 employees. “The results are truly shocking. Primark governs with hard hard,” says Niels Suijker, union member at FNV in a statement. The value retailer said it was both “quite shocked and moved” by the results of FNV online survey and noted that it has been working for several months to launch its workers council. Since the survey’s results were published 3 Primark has met with FNV and agreed to make a number of changes to improve working conditions for staff, including respecting employee privacy, improved procedures for holiday leave, and the establishment of a workers council. However, even though Primark responded quickly to the allegations and was eager to improve conditions, FNV is aware time will show if working conditions improve and has therefore scheduled a meeting in three months time.

However, store employees in the Netherlands who voiced these concerns are not only ones working at Primark who feel this way. Over in the UK and in the US, Primark sales assistants have also shared concerns feeling overworked and underpaid, having to deal with overbearing management teams, as well as difficulty in taking time off, on job boards Indeed and Glassdoor. These complaints from the UK have come even after Primark implemented the “national living wage” 4 , which aims to ensure its workers are paid enough to live off of. In France, employees also complained of difficult working conditions in Primark, with complaints ranging from unpaid sick leave, to constant monitoring, to unexplainable gaps between sales assistants' wages 5 . Over in Spain, in Madrid one Primark retail worker claimed he was making the same amount of money working 30 hours a week at Primark in 2016, as he was working 12 hours a week at department store El Corte Inglés in 2007 6 . So even though Primark may have a number of initiatives in place aimed at improving employee wellbeing, it seems as if the effects of these programmes are not as beneficial or effective for all its workers - in particular its store employees.

Should Primark be more open with consumers concerning sustainability?

“We believe Primark could do more to educate its shoppers on how to care for their clothes” Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST

Primark is also updating its website to offer consumers more information on its ethical and sustainable activities. “We will be putting a lot more information concerning our ethics on there come May,” continues Stewart. “We are starting to share more films - our cotton film is a good example of that - but we are trying to make it more engaging and interesting for customers based on the feedback we get and offer as much information as possible." This is why Primark is developing the communication around everything in terms of ethical and sustainable programmes, to make sure it is as informative and visual as possible for its readers. NGOs applaud the move from Primark and agree the retailer should explore further avenues on how it can share more information on its sustainable and ethical programmes. “We suggest Primark share more data with its shoppers concerning the workers that make its clothing, and show how the brand is working to ensure they are treated ethically, so shoppers can see first hand the stories behind their clothes,” says Jacinta FitzGerald, Head of Research at Project JUST 7 . “We also believe Primark could do more to educate its shoppers on how to care for their clothes and encourage them to look after them and keep them for longer.”

At the moment Primark does have a few initiatives in place aimed at educating consumers on how to care better for their clothes, such as their partnership with SCAP 8 . But in order to properly tackle many consumers perception and predisposed disposition against Primark and its products, the value fashion retailer may have to dig a little deeper. Primark does agree that it could be sharing more information on its sustainable and ethical practices with the public, even if consumers are not always asking for it. “It’s a bit like the chicken and egg conundrum isn’t it?,” says Stewart on sharing more on their corporate responsibility practices. “I think that the information has to be there for the consumer to make an educated choice. But if it isn’t available, then consumers should also be proactively asking why not, and what retailers are doing on certain subjects. We do get many queries concerning our sustainable practices and we do answer those as best we can.” Primark even has a FAQs section on its website under its ‘Ethics’ section which answers it's most commonly asked questions.

Does Primark’s Low Prices equal Low Quality and Disposable Fashion?

Unfortunately cheaper prices are also more likely to trigger consumers into making an impulse purchase in store. And thanks to Primark’s low prices shoppers can easily fill a recycled paper bag full of garments for 50 pounds or less. But this also means consumers are more tempted to buy something without trying it and will be less inclined to return an ill-fitting garment, as it could cost them more in travel costs going back to the store than the actual garment itself. “It is hard to resist the allure of a good bargain, but fast fashion means we’re consuming and trashing fashion at a higher rate than our planet can handle,” warns Kirsten Brodde, head of Greenpeace’s Detox My Fashion campaign 11 in a statement.

What is Primark doing to offer affordable fashion at an amazing price?

So what is Primark doing to reassure its consumers that its products should be cherished and that people should not buy more than they need? On its website, the value retailer has a dedicated area under its ‘Ethics’ page which explains how they are able to offer the lowest prices on the high street. For example Primark claims to not spend any money advertising and orders its products in large volumes well in advance, so they can keep their overhead costs as low as possible. Primark’s margins are also said to half a high as those of its fast-fashion competitors. Primark also ensures its suppliers use a streamlined production process to make its clothing in the most effective way possible. Combined, these tactics are said to ensure Primark remains accessible and affordable to all shoppers, while offer good value for money - a goal the company has always kept in sight, according to Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. “Unlike other clothes shops, people often come to Primark because they know they’ll be able to afford a whole outfit. This means we get the savings from buying in bulk,” explains Stewart.

“Unlike other clothes shops, people often come to Primark because they know they’ll be able to afford a whole outfit” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

“[But] I do not think we are actively encouraging people to buy more than they need with our low prices, we are providing affordable fashion,” argues Stewart. “I think the one thing I would say is that it depends where you live. We are all quite focused on the flagship stores, where you see people coming out of Primark with piles of bags. [At the flagship stores] you have tourists coming from abroad, where there isn’t a Primark store. But for us it's all about making fashion affordable at a value people can afford. If you go to a Primark’s further up North, in Grimsby, UK for example you can see people are buying one or two things, not bags and bags of things - and we can see this reflected in our sales data. So it is important to remember that these flagship stores attract huge amounts of people and we shouldn’t get side tracked as to what is looks like across the board.”

“As long as we stimulate seeing clothing as a disposable product instead of an investment, the race to the bottom will continue” Tara Scally, Dutch Campaign Coordinator for Clean Clothes Campaign 12

Stewart adds Primark has also been investing in creating better quality clothing to help combat the stigma that its offers throw-away clothing and ensure their products last longer. “I know people will often say that the quality isn’t very good at Primark, but we have invested a lot in quality over the last few years,” says Stewart. “Right from the start, when the buyers are developing the product, we ensure we have the quality team looking at the design of product. Then when the product goes into the production side, we have quality checks during the product’s manufacturing as well, which has made a real difference as we are noticing a positive response from customers. We are building things to last.” She claims she has had a suedette jacket she is wearing from Primark for years, and that her co-workers have even begun to joke about how often she wears it. “I don’t care really, I love this jacket.”

Nevertheless, Primark cannot argue with the fact that many consumers do shop excessively at Primark and are more likely to make an unnecessary, or unneeded purchase if the price is low enough. The rise of ‘haul’ style shopping videos on YouTube is just one example of how the value retailer’s pricing is affecting the way people shop and how they view their products. A quick Google search shows exactly how fast Primark haul videos are growing in popularity - with 3.63 million results showing up for ‘Primark haul 2017’ versus 2.95 million hits for ‘Primark haul 2016.’ Many of these videos attract millions of views - for instance YouTube favourite Zoella’s latest ‘Primark Haul’, entitled ‘The Biggest Primark Haul I've Ever Done’, was uploaded on March 21, 2017 and already counts over 2.6 millions views. The 20-minute video features numerous items from Primark’s Spring/Summer 2017 collection including boyfriend style jeans, striped cropped tops and lacy triangle bras - all in several colours and sizes. In the video Zoella shows off each item one by one to her viewers: young, impressionable women who all want to look and dress just like her - which leads to many of them also shopping in bulk at Primark.

Primark maintains it is able to keep its prices so low because all of its orders are placed in bulk and not because its does not pay its workers enough. “From the way we source our products to how we organise our stores, our business is based on doing some simple things very differently from other retailers, which is how we can keep prices low,” says Stewart. However many consumers still believe that Primark is less ethical than high street rivals H&M, Zara or Mango, which is false according to Primark. “We share 98 percent of our factories with other high street retailers,” stresses Stewart. “The places of production are shared - they are the same working conditions, the same wages - let’s just level the plane and get rid of this assumption that paying more for an item somehow makes it more ethical. It’s one of our challenges we have to deal with. We have to find a way of explaining to the customer not to make that assumption, as price is not an indication of good or bad ethics. We are big business and people talk a lot about us because we are big.”

“Let’s just level the plane and get rid of this assumption that paying more for an item somehow makes it more ethical - price is not an indication of good or bad ethics” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

Primark has been grappling with the best way to tackle this assumption over the past few years. One key avenue Primark has been experimenting with to better communicate their ethics to consumers is video. But what could Primark film to convey its good ethics in simple and clear way? It’s suppliers factories."We made a 360 degree video of one of suppliers factories in Bangladesh,” says Stewart. The video, which marks a first for the value retailer, shows what factory conditions are like for workers in Bangladesh. “It's really interesting and been very helpful for when we have been giving school talks or teaching at colleges,” adds Stewart. “I just think it’s incredibly insightful because it follows the lifecycle of a product, from the cutting room all the way through the factory floor.” Primark has shared the video on their website, under their ‘Ethics’ section as consumers often requested what a supplier factory from the value retailer looks like. “Historically we have always shared still photographs of the factories we work with, but we thought it would be good to bring it to life in another way. Now with the younger generation becoming increasingly technical and visual, we felt that 360 degree video was the right format to do that in," explains Stewart. Depending on how consumers respond to the video, Primark may consider creating more - but for now the value retailer is pleased with their first 360 degree video.

• Primark's international website
• The FNV, is the largest trade union in the Netherlands and counts over a million members across numerous sectors.
• FNV Primark results from its online survey into the working conditions at Primark NL.
• The National Living Wage rates is applicable to workers aged 25 or more, the national minimum wage is applicable for workers aged 24 and under in the UK. Rates change every April.
• Referenced from: 'Enquête – L’enfer Primark' - October, 2016.
• Referenced from: 'No es solo Primark: así tratan (y así pagan) a sus dependientes en H&M, Inditex y Mango' - November, 2015.
• MEP Marc Tarabella written question to the European Commission to investigate Primark's working conditions.
• Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) and the Textile Recycling Association joint statement on garment recycling.
• Photo: Amsterdam Flagshipstore. Credit: FashionUnited.
• Photo: Primark Employees at Primark Den Haag. Credit: Simon Trel for FashionUnited.
• Photo: Primark Gent opening Belgium via AFP. Credit: JASPER JACOBS / BELGA MAG / BELGA
• Photo: Primark Boston. Credit: Paul Marotta / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
• Video: Primark The Biggest Primark Haul I’ve Ever Done. Credit: Zoella
• Video: PRIMARK | Take a 360 virtual tour of a factory in Bangladesh. Credit: Primark.

Can Primark really offer responsible fashion at an amazing price?

Some may think the Rana Plaza factory collapse 2013 was a turning point for the fashion industry - a wake up call for the retailers producing their garments there to band together to make a change for good. However for others, like Primark, it was a call to take a closer look at its supply chain and operations to see where it could make even a larger impact through its sustainable and ethical initiatives. For years Primark has been fighting against the stigma that cheap fashion is not sustainable or ethical, even though the value fashion retailer shares 98 percent of its suppliers and factories with other high street retailers, such as H&M, Zara and Mango.

For example Primark has partnered with numerous NGOs, such as Solidaridad, CottonConnect and Made-By, as well as organisations like The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) 1 and together has instigated many initiatives aimed at improving the livelihoods, health and safety of its workers. In addition Primark has joined a number of partnerships to ensure its products are made as sustainably and responsibly as possible, with as little harm to the environment. The value retailer believes that collaboration is one of the keys to improving environmental standards and working conditions across the industry in main manufacturing hubs. “What certainly has helped over the last two years is there has been more of an appetite to collaborate,” says Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability. “There were a number of brands before who did not want to collaborate. But now, we are all sharing factories and therefore human rights has to be a prerequisite for us, as it should be for all.”

Although some may argue that not a lot seems to have changed within the fashion industry concerning the lives and rights garment workers since Rana Plaza, Steward disagrees. “From my point of view, I have seen real change coming through. There are some new collaborations now coming through which could have a real impactful change.” As Primark has made sure its five pillars of corporate responsibility have become an integrated part of the company, it’s Sustainable Cotton Programme has become a prime example of how such an initiative can positively impact both workers livelihoods, as well as the retailer’s cotton products - even if they do not directly own any farms. “For us sustainability is just about doing it across the board,” notes Stewart. “But I find it more difficult to share what we are doing sustainably because we do not make capsule collections and can’t just hang a little label on it. We have to find a more holistic way to share what we do.”

“We have to find a more holistic way to share what we do” Katharine Stewart, Primark’s Director of Ethical Trade & Environmental Sustainability

Publishing more information on its website, training its members of staff and creating behind the scenes videos of the factories it works with, are just a handful of avenues Primark has taken on share what it does in terms of sustainability and social responsibility. And the value retailer’s efforts have not gone completely unnoticed within the industry. “It is commendable that fast fashion companies are reacting to the challenges we face and creating positive intervention towards socially mindful solutions. In the case of Primark, and others, I dare say, it's about time,” says Orsola de Castro, Founder and Creative Director at Fashion Revolution 2 and Esthetica. However, although fast-fashion retailers like Primark have been working hard to improve working conditions and dramatically decrease their impact on the environment, in reality they have been unable to match their sales gains with corresponding improvements in terms of the social and environmental aspects.

At the end of the day, the fashion industry remains one of the most polluting sectors in the world. The social, sustainable and ethical impacts of the industry - both good and bad - continue to grow as the number of garments produced does. Since the global emergence of fast-fashion retailers like Primark back in 2000, the number of garments produced annually has doubled, exceeding 100 billion garments in 2014 - which is equal to nearly 14 items of clothing for every person on earth according to data from McKinsey & Company 3 . With limited resources for apparel production, there is only so much retailers like Primark can due to limit the negative impacts of its current business model. The value fashion retailer’s parent company, Associated British Foods, acknowledges it faces pressure to set itself fixed goals in terms of responsible and sustainable production, but stresses transparency is key to making a real difference.

“There is pressure from outside organisations to set targets as soon as counting begins. I believe it is more important to show, as transparently as possible, proof of the good we have already done, than to set a target of what we may do in the future” George Weston, Associated British Foods Chief Executive, ABF Corporate Responsibility Report, 2016

However, others disagree and argue transparency, as well as setting targets, are still not enough to make a real difference. “Of course it can be seen as if the greatest offenders are now establishing themselves as the greatest investors in sustainability and ethics, but the truth is that the fast fashion model is far from being effective and considerate,” continues de Castro. “It relies on some kind of exploitation, of people or resources. Until there is a general understanding that we all need to slow down and redress this industry, all initiatives, however welcome, however innovative, are just covering the problem, not solving it. To solve it we need more time and a concerted effort on behalf of us all, to buy a little less and demand a whole lot better for our garment workers.”

• A list of Primark’s social, environmental and sustainable partners.
• Fashion Revolution is a global movement started in the wake of Rana Plaza. Fashion Revolutions aims to bring everyone involved in the fashion supply chain together to bring around positive change and create a more sustainable future.
• Data from ’Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula’ by Nathalie Remy, Eveline Speelman, and Steven Swartz, McKinsey & Company, October 2016.
• Photo: Leipzig - Germany. Credit: Primark.

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Assessing Primark's Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study

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Technology and Operations Management

Mba student perspectives.

• Assignments
• Assignment: RC TOM Challenge 2017

Primark: Hitting the Mark on Addressing Climate Change

Climate change is forcing fast fashion retailers like Primark to confront the environmental implications of their supply chain.

Fast fashion supply chain criticized for lack of sustainability

Although lesser known in the US than its “fast fashion” counterparts including Zara and H&M, Primark is a significant player in the global clothing industry. This industry – whose production doubled between 2000 and 2014 – has been the focus of much criticism from environmentalists [1]. A subsidiary of Associated British Foods, Primark is known for having some of the lowest prices in the fast fashion space, achieved through a flexible supply network comprised of global “large scale and long-term contracting and sub-contracting” [2].

Companies like Primark have come under fire because of the environmental impact of their supply chain and of their products. With its vast manufacturing and shipping network to supply its stores located mostly in Europe and in the US, Primark’s water consumption grew by 6%, GHG emissions grew by 15%, and energy consumption grew by 21% between just 2014-2016 [3]. Clothing also accounted for 4.4% of total waste in the US in 2013, more than double its share in 1990, an increase that fast fashion has undoubtedly contributed to [4].

Primark is committed to reducing environmental impact of its supply chain

Although Primark has historically been “relatively quiet in terms of what it does [for] sustainability,” management at the company has started to act in recent years to mitigate the contributions of Primark’s supply chain to climate change. They are focused on 3 specific strategies:

Pathways to Just Digital Future

• Full traceability of the product supply chain
• Environmental, health and safety compliance in all direct and indirect operations
• Improved environmental performance of products and raw materials [5]

In the short term, this has meant focusing on the sustainability of Primark’s stores. Primark has achieved the Carbon Trust Energy Standard and the Carbon Trust Standard for Waste for its in-store practices [3]. The company has also become “more actively involved in the recycling process of its materials” to “significantly reduce the volume and frequency of waste collections at each store” [3]. Moreover, the company has joined forces with industry collaborators like the ZDHC Foundation, the Leather Working Group, and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to work together to improve practices [5].

In the medium term, more of Primark’s sustainable supply chain strategies will materialize. Management has set a multi-year roadmap to achieve “zero use and discharge of hazardous chemicals” (see graphic below) [5]. As a part of this endeavor, Primark is equipping suppliers with a Chemical Management Toolkit and asking them to commit to Primark’s zero use goals. As of May 2017, 70% of suppliers had committed to Primark’s goals and 100% had designated a responsible chemical manager [5].

Source: [5]

Primark has also received much positive press for its long-term cotton sustainability strategy. Although it purchases no cotton directly, it has “set a long-term ambition to ensure all the cotton in its supply chain is sustainably sourced” [6]. In 2013, it began a 3-year engagement with CottonConnect to empower rural women in India to adopt more sustainable cotton farming practices [7]. The program trained 1,251 women and was so successful that Primark decided in 2016 to scale up the initiative to train 10,000 more women over the next 6 years [6].

… but is Primark doing enough?

It is not clear, however, that Primark is taking sufficient action to address the sustainability issues in its supply chain. Most importantly, Primark has yet to take significant measures to reduce its GHG emissions, which grew by 15% over the last 3 years [3]. As Primark further expands its footprint in America, GHG emissions will likely continue to grow with increased transportation costs. The company should consider shifting more transportation to using renewable energy or should purchase carbon offsets.

Much of Primark’s supply chain concerns regarding climate change have to do with mitigating Primark’s impact. It does not seem from the literature available that Primark’s management is concerned with adapting its supply chain to climate change. For example, on the product front, Primark should consider its selection and timing of warm weather versus cold weather clothing in light of changing weather patterns. On the sourcing front, Primark’s executives need be mindful of climate change vulnerabilities in countries, like Bangladesh, from where it sources [3,8].

Although Primark has made great strides to improve the environmental impact of its supply chain in recent years, the question remains as to how committed management really is to these initiatives. Why has management resisted setting targets for many of the environmental initiatives? Why was management so quiet about sustainability efforts for so long?

Regardless, the onus is equally on the consumer as it is on management. Despite the benefits provided by affordable, fast fashion, consumers must be aware of the environmental impact of the fast fashion supply chain.

(788 words)

[ 1] “Looking Good Can Be Extremely Bad for the Environment”, The Economist, (April 8, 2017), https://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21720200-global-clothing-production-doubled-between-2000-and-2014-looking-good-can-be

[2] Ivanov, D., Tsipoulanidis, A., Schonberger, J., “Operations and Supply Chain Strategy” in Global Supply Chain and Operations Management: A Decision-Oriented Introduction to the Creation of Value, (Springer International Publishing, 2017), pg. 72

[3] Hendriksz, V., “A Closer Look at Primark’s Stance on Responsible Fashion”, FashionUnited, (April 20, 2017), https://fashionunited.uk/primark-sustainability

[4] “Faster, Cheaper Fashion”, The Economist, (September 5, 2015), https://www.economist.com/news/business/21663221-rapidly-rising-super-cheap-irish-clothes-retailer-prepares-conquer-america-rivals-should

[5] “Primark Environmental Performance Report 2017”, Primark, (May 17, 2017), https://www.primark.com/~/media/ourethics/detox/pdfs/detox-report/primark-environmental-performance-report_2017.ashx

[6] “Helping to inform Primark’s long-term ambition to ensure all the cotton in its supply chain is sourced sustainably and addressing some of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, while making a meaningful difference to women cotton farmers and their families”, CottonConnect.org, http://cottonconnect.org/portfolio-posts/primark-sustainable-cotton-case-study/

[7] Sit, S., “Profits rise for Primark’s female cotton farmers”, Cips.org, (February 10, 2017),  https://www.cips.org/en/supply-management/news/2017/february/profits-rise-for-female-cotton-farmers-working-with-primark-/

[8] Glennon, R., “The Unfolding Tragedy of Climate Change in Bangladesh”, Scientific American, (April 21, 2017), https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-unfolding-tragedy-of-climate-change-in-bangladesh/

Student comments on Primark: Hitting the Mark on Addressing Climate Change

Great post and interesting to learn what Primark is doing to address sustainability issues in its supply chain. Given fast-fashion retailers like H&M, Primark, and Zara are under pressure to get products to market quickly and inexpensively to consumers, these companies have tended to be the worst in terms of ensuring products are being made in a sustain way. It is becoming more common for these stores to set up a task force to address sustainability issues, buts its often difficult to integrate new ideas into business processes and enact real change. One change H&M has made is to allow encourage customers to bring old clothes to the store where H&M then handles the recycling. I wonder if the industry could consolidate an only work with distributors and suppliers who maintain high quality standards when it comes to sustainability. Companies in the fishing industry and diamond industry have been somewhat successful in doing so.

Thanks for writing this! I think that It’s interesting to think about what motivates companies to “go green” and whether it’s a PR play, genuine concern for the environment, or fear that by contributing to global warming, they are depleting their own supply. I was particularly intrigued by your note on sustainably sourcing cotton and did a bit of research into how cotton supply is being impacted by climate change (good article here: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-climate-change-material-cotton-industry ). It talks about what some companies are doing to reduce their reliance on raw cotton. Levi, for example, created jeans from recycled T-shirts. And companies like Patagonia and Eileen Fischer are encouraging customers to hang onto clothing longer (consequently reducing sales but potentially increasing CLV?) and providing instructions on how to repair damages. I’m curious to see what the future holds for innovation from Primark and other retailers.

Thank you for the insightful article, Shelby. It prompted me to think of issues in fashion that I rarely consider as a consumer, and you illustrated the challenges Primark is facing in implementing more sustainable operations. You referenced the fact that Primark has understated their sustainability efforts in the media, which prompted me to wonder why they choose not to publicize the changes they are making.

In theory, a company like Primark could take their sustainability efforts one step further by educating their consumers on their philosophy and urging customers to make purchasing decisions that are best for the environment. This would hopefully create a virtuous cycle in which companies develop and market sustainable operations, customers demand sustainably made clothes and purchase accordingly, and sustainable companies have more capital to invest in sustainability initiatives. The key to setting this pattern in motion is articulating the operational changes to current and potential customers: however, experts note that potentially boring and/or inaccessible messaging alienate an audience ( https://sustainability.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Promoting_Sustain_Behavior_Primer.pdf ). Primark could start to educate consumers about their efforts by leveraging their fascinating engagement with CottonConnect, and over time introduce information about more complicated operational changes to their marketing. Hopefully, Primark will continue to pursue sustainable practices in their supply chain, which will transform their supply chain partners and set the tone for industry-wide changes.

Thanks for a great post, @scolby! I agree with @aportland that we rarely think about these issues from the consumer perspective so this was an extremely relevant post.

Primark’s supply chain issues remind me closely of IKEA’s, specifically in terms of the dual impact of the supply side and the demand side. During the IKEA case, we discussed how the company could dramatically increase consumers’ willingness and ability to recycle by investing in convenient infrastructure. I believe Primark’s focus on soft goods (vs. IKEA’s furniture-heavy business) enables it to establish this infrastructure more easily and cheaply. You mention in your post that Primark has increased waste collection at its retail locations, but I wonder if it could have more of an impact by enabling recycling at a broader variety of locations. This could be an area where partnering with other fashion retailers, particularly fast fashion retailers with similar product lifetimes, would create a meaningful scale benefit: if Zara, H&M, and Primark partnered to create a clothing recycling infrastructure, they could collectively offer many more drop-off points and increased convenience to the consumer. This would in turn increase the availability of recycled materials on the supply side and allow Primark to reduce its reliance on costly raw materials that often have to be transported from distant locations, thereby decreasing the company’s negative impact in secondary ways.

Thanks for the post Shelby! It’s great to hear about companies like Primark that are not usually in the media spotlight for these sorts of issues. You brought up the point that the commitment to sustainability is equally on consumers as it is on company management. I wonder whether Primark could be more explicit about where its products are sourced from – and educate their customers in-store. One company that comes to mind is Eberjay ( https://www.eberjey.com/ ). Although it’s an e-commerce play, the company has made ‘customer education’ on sustainability issues part of its core value proposition, while at the same time, maintaining (relatively) low prices. Perhaps Primark could learn something from them about consumer education and willingness to pay? Transparency in their supply chain may seem risky, but I think consumers would appreciate a move like this from a mass-market brand.

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PRIMARK CARES

Scaling up: Primark driving progress on its wide-ranging commitments to make more sustainable fashion affordable for everyone

Primark publishes its second Sustainability and Ethics Progress Report, demonstrating how it’s embedding and scaling up programmes across the business to drive impact.

Nov 23, 2023

55% of Primark’s clothes sold this year contained recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, up from 45% last year.

Primark’s target to halve its carbon emissions across its value chain by 2030 has now been assessed and validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Its award-winning Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP) is marking its 10th year, with almost 300,000 farmers trained in more sustainable farming methods – surpassing its target of 275,000 farmers by the end of 2023.

As consumers continue to prioritise value, Primark is standing by its customers and price leadership, and two years since the launch of its sustainability strategy Primark Cares, remains on track to delivering its promise to offer more sustainable affordable fashion to everyone. Its commitment that all its clothes will be made of recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030 is well on track. This year, over half (55%) of all clothes sold contained recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, up from 45% last year. This was supported by the launch of a new circular product collection this year, with over three million units of circular clothing sold.   

The retailer’s second Sustainability and Ethics Progress Report is released today, showing how over the past 12 months, Primark has scaled up pilot programmes and projects, embedding early learnings on where it can have the most impact to drive change.  

One great example is cotton, Primark’s most used fibre in its clothing. This year, 46% of cotton clothing sold contained cotton that was either organic, recycled or sourced from the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP) , up from 40% last year. PSCP, which celebrates a decade in operation this year, is now the largest programme of its kind for a single fashion retailer and demonstrates how scaling up partnerships can deliver real impact. 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. This information will help Primark 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 (SBTi) . 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 programmes 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 focused 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 commented on the launch of the second Report:

"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 and what role the fashion industry and they, as customers, can play in this change.”

Find highlights here .

Other progress highlights across its Primark Cares strategy include:

The development of a new Circular Product Standard (CPS) : Primark launched a new framework for how it intends to design and make products which can be reloved or recycled at end of life. Its first circular product range based on this framework was launched this year, made up of a 35-piece collection across womenswear, menswear and kidswear focusing on wardrobe staples like denim and jersey. Through this collection over three million units of circular clothing were sold. Primark is also now working to train more employees and suppliers in circular design.

Primark has expanded its repair workshops, with 100 workshops held across four markets – UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands – hosting 1,600 free places to customers and colleagues since 2021, upskilling them on how to repair and customise their clothes, all with the goal to encourage them to love and wear their clothes for longer.

Scaling up its extended durability wash testing to cover 39% of all Primark's clothing - 57% of all denim tested met the highest level under its own enhanced wash framework.

Partnering with behaviour change experts Hubbub and the University of Leeds to support the largest of its kind study to understand the factors that impact the durability of clothing and what role price plays in how long a garment lasts. The research found that there is no correlation between how long an item of clothing lasts and its price, and highlighted the urgent need for the industry to align on a recognised durability standard so customers can make more informed choices when shopping.

Primark has trained 299,388 farmers in more sustainable farming methods through the PSCP since 2013, surpassing its target of 275,000 farmers by end of 2023. New impact data shows a 26% reduction in the use of pesticides by farmers involved in the PSCP, with chemical fertilisers by 35%, leading to an increase of cotton yield among the farmers by 8%1.

Primark developed with external experts a biodiversity monitoring framework to help to better understand outcomes and indicators which can be measured for seeing long term improvements in biodiversity. Primark has begun testing this methodology at selected farms in its PSCP.

Since 2019, Primark estimates to have removed and/or avoided over one billion units of single-use plastic (SUP) from its business.

As part of its commitment to pursue a living wage for workers within its supply chain, Primark is using the Fair Labor Association's Fair Compensation Toolkit to collect wage data in factories across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Turkey. As part of its membership with Action, Collaboration and Transformation (ACT), Primark also continues to improve its responsible purchasing principles including training all relevant colleagues on how to embed these in day-to-day engagement with suppliers.

Primark has helped workers in its supply chain in India to understand more about their rights through its My Life programme in over 7 factories. These factories represent over 4,000 workers.

Primark’s skills development programme Sudokkho has been run in 17 factories. These factories represent 29,224 female workers. While not falling under its Primark Cares strategy, Primark has also this year focused on some key initiatives to promote wellbeing and inclusion for its colleagues.

Donated £150,000 to ILGA World to advance equity and equality for LGBTQI+ people worldwide, bringing the total contribution to £475,000 over the last 4 years.

Primark announced a new three-year partnership with WorkEqual, with a commitment to provide €300,000 to help bring its coaching, career development and styling services to women across Ireland.

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