During the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, a joint effort involving major brands from the fashion industry was declared to move ahead with circular business models. Primark has joined this proposal besides other prominent names such as H&M Group, Zalando, Arc’teryx, and Reformation. The undertaking also enjoys support from leading organizations like the British Fashion Council, Textile Exchange, Global Fashion Agenda, Fashion for Good, and the Waste & Resources Action Programme.
Participating organisations will look into into strategies to defeat obstacles delaying the growth of new income streams in areas such as resale, rental, repair, and remaking. Primark views this proposal as aligned with its own obligation to extending the lifecycle of clothing, as part of its wider sustainability strategy identified as ‘Primark Cares’.
Moreover, while presently 55 per cent of its clothing is produced from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, Primark aspires to achieve 100 per cent by 2030. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, estimations suggest that if resale, rental, repair, and remaking jointly reach a 23 per cent market share by 2030, the fashion industry could see a major reduction in CO2 emissions, up to 16 per cent.
Primark has been vigorously promoting pre-loved clothing accessibility in its stores ever since with the Vintage Wholesale Company in 2022 to provide vintage clothing through Wornwell concessions. Additionally, the retailer is already moving ahead towards new customer offerings in the pre-owned realm, together with a trial of ‘Primark presents Pre-loved’ in 7 UK stores, featuring an elite curated collection of classic music tees just in time for the festival season.
Nick Lambert, Circular Product Lead at Primark, underlined the need for greater strides towards circularity in the fashion industry, shifting away from the usual take-make-waste model. He emphasised Primark’s obligation to scaling circularity within its operations, planning to integrate it effortlessly into future clothing design and manufacturing processes. In spite of the challenges, Primark deems its scale can be leveraged to push meaningful change within the industry.
