Primark has lately announced that it is expanding its renowned sustainable cotton program to key suppliers in Pakistan, one of its largest existing supplier nations.
Primark’s sustainable cotton program initiative was originally launched in Northern India in 2013. It is worth noting that more than 6,000 independent cotton farmers were enrolled in the program from India. Looking at the success rate, Primark decided to extend the initiative to farmers in Pakistan.
Primark has worked alongside CottonConnect, an enterprise with a clear mission to transform cotton industry for good, that closely works with the retail brands to assist the Indian farmers and local NGO REEDS (the Rural Education and Economic Development Society), in order to introduce the program into Pakistan. It is expected that by 2022, additional 20,000 farmers will be enrolled in the program from Pakistan and more than 30,000 farmers across both the sourcing nations will be trained in sustainable farming methods.
The program was established to train and support smallholder farmers in the application of sustainable farming methods. In association with CottonConnect, growers are educated on the most appropriate farming techniques such as seed selection, sowing, soil, water, pesticides and pest management, picking, fiber quality, grading and storage of harvested crop.
Katharine Stewart, Ethical Trade and Environmental Sustainability Director, Primark said, “We’ve deliberately targeted regions that are already used by our suppliers, so we can introduce even more cotton grown using sustainable farming methods into our supply chain as soon as possible. Our expansion into Pakistan is the logical next step for us, as we continue to move towards 100 per cent sustainable cotton in our supply chain.”
Primark looks at the project as a good way to trace the cotton throughout every stage of its supply chain, a sentiment which aligns with the brand’s decision to launch a Global Sourcing Map at the beginning of 2018.
Moreover, more than 4.4 million pairs of Primark cotton pyjamas made with sustainable cotton were sold by the retailer in the UK with information about the initiative communicated to consumers via tags on the garments.
Primark is a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and has invested significant sums into the Bangladesh Accord. It also works with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Group (ZDHC) to improve environmental stewardship and human rights across the value chain.
