Dublin-headquartered fast fashion giant Primark has announced a major expansion of its Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP)—it has committed to train an additional 125,000 smallholder cotton farmers in more sustainable farming methods in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh by the end of 2023.
This will increase the expected availability of sustainable cotton for its products by 60%, bringing the total number of farmers in the PSCP to over 275,000, an expansion of over 80%, cementing its position as the largest of its kind of any single fashion retailer.
The programme: The company developed the programme and launched the first pilot in India in 2013 in collaboration with CottonConnect and grassroots organisation Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).
- The idea was to reduce its impact on the environment, changing the way the business sources its cotton and improving the livelihoods of farmers. The programme has expanded to Pakistan and Bangladesh with the expertise of local in market partners*, and has trained 150,000 smallholder farmers, 80% of whom are women.
- Primark’s sustainable cotton is grown through a process using CottonConnect’s REEL (responsible environment enhanced livelihoods) Programme. Farmers are trained over three years to address an over-dependence on chemical fertilisers and pesticides in order to preserve the biodiversity and help mitigate against climate change. The programme helps build a transparent and resilient supply chain, which gives back to local farming communities.
- On average, farmers in the programme use 40% less chemical pesticides and fertilisers and 10% less water used by acre, with a 14% increase in yield and growth in profits by 200%. The programme will now be focused on restoring biodiversity, with 100% of farmers adopting more regenerative practices by 2030.
- The programme supports the company's commitment that 100% of the cotton in its clothes will be sourced from the PSCP, organic or recycled by 2027, as also its commitment to make all its products from recycled fibres or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030. Currently, almost 40% of Primark clothing is made from recycled fibres or more sustainably sourced materials.
- Cotton is the most commonly used fibre in Primark clothes—over half of all Primark clothing clothes are made primarily from cotton—and already today, over a quarter (27%) of cotton clothes are made using PSCP cotton. A further 4% are made from organic cotton, and 2% from recycled cotton.
What they said
We developed our Sustainable Cotton programme with our partners almost a decade ago to reduce the impact on the environment, support farmer livelihoods and improve the way we source our cotton. We’re proud of how far it’s come, evolving into the largest of its kind of any single fashion retailer. It has taken time to build a programme of this scale, and the positive impact it has had on the livelihoods of thousands of farmers means we can continue its expansion - benefitting more farmers and supporting our ambition to offer our customers more sustainable options at Primark.
Our sustainable cotton programme plays an integral role in our long-term vision to make more sustainable clothes affordable for everyone. Over half of our clothes are made with cotton, so by further increasing the number of farmers, we will be able to meet our commitment that all the cotton in our clothing will be organic, recycled or from our programme by 2027.
—Lynne Walker
Director
Primark Cares
We are pleased to further our long-standing partnership with Primark to collaborate on the largest programme of its kind by any single retailer in the fashion industry. Any programme at such scale is complex, but working in close collaboration with Primark and the local partners means we are confident we can support Primark’s ambitions and support the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. We look forward to the next stage of this programme and seeing the positive impact it will have for many more farming communities.
—Alison Ward
CEO
CottonConnect
By partnering with Primark and CottonConnect, we have been able to strengthen the knowledge of women on sustainable cotton farming methods. Through our training, we’ve been able to help the farmers reduce production costs, adopt more environmentally friendly farming methods, and ultimately increase their earnings. This programme is proof of how long-term investment in farmers can help build financial resilience for themselves, their families, and communities. It’s incredible to see how far this programme has come since 2013 where we started with around 1,200 female cotton farmers in India, to where it is today, improving the livelihoods of more and more farmers across India.
—Reema Nanavaty
Leader
Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA)
