If we want to live in a sustainable world in the future, we need to change how we dress. Thankfully, fashion giants Primark and ASOS have announced new sustainability commitments, with both promising to keep prices affordable.
Primark
Today, 25% of Primark’s clothes are made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials. Primark’s new commitments will ensure that 100% of its clothing is made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030.
Over the next year, all women’s, men’s, and kids’ entry price point t-shirts will transition to being made with sustainably sourced cotton. In addition, Primark, which sells over one billion items per year, including jeans and sweaters for only £7 ($9.60) each, will modify its design process to ensure its clothes are recycled at the end of their life to reduce fashion waste.
Primark has also committed to improving the durability of its clothing so that it can be worn for longer. It is defining new industry guidelines on durability with WRAP, the UK waste charity committed to fast-tracking the fashion industry’s move to circularity.
According to Oxfam, roughly 13 million items of clothing are sent to UK landfills every week. Wrap estimated that adds up to £140m ($192.8m) worth of garments sent to UK landfills per year, and demand for raw materials is only expected to triple by 2050.
Primark CEO Paul Marchant comments on the global strategy launch:
This is a new and exciting chapter in the Primark story. Our ambition is to offer customers the affordable prices they know and love us for, but with products that are made in a way that is better for the planet and the people who make them. We know that’s what our customers, and our colleagues, want and expect from us.
This isn’t the start of our journey. We’ve been working to become a more sustainable and ethical business for over ten years. As a result, one in four of all the clothes we sell already come from our Primark Cares range of products made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials.
Our new commitments mark a significant acceleration in the pace and scale of change, requiring us to think differently about how we do business. Right from how our clothes are designed and manufactured through to how we sell them in stores. We don’t have all the answers, and we know we can’t do it alone. So, we’re committed to working in partnership with the industry to drive real change at scale.
Sustainable Cotton
Primark will contribute to industry-level transformation by working with its suppliers to cut carbon emissions by 50% throughout its value chain. It claims that it will also remove single-use plastics in its own operations, adding to the more than 500 million items eliminated already.
Primark will expand its Sustainable Cotton Program, the largest of its kind in the fashion industry, and teach farmers how to use more regenerative and sustainable farming practices, such as using fewer chemicals and less water.
The retailer will achieve this by:
- Partnering with CottonConnect,
- Using the industry-leading REEL Regenerative Code to enhance biodiversity,
- Adapting to climate change,
- And improving farmers’ livelihoods.
In addition, Primark will build on its established ethical trade initiatives and existing partnership with ACT to improve the lives of the employees making its clothes by pursuing a living wage for its supply chain workers and investing in programs that offer more excellent opportunities for women.
Paul Marchant highlighted:
We believe that sustainability shouldn’t be priced at a premium that only a minority can afford. Because of who we are, we believe we have the opportunity to make more sustainable fashion choices affordable to all.
Primark will share more information with customers at its 397 stores across 14 countries about the positive changes with its ‘How Change Looks’ campaign. One of these countries includes Ireland, where the company was founded. Primark trades in Ireland as Penneys, where it has 37 stores.
It will also expand the number of recycling bins in stores to collect and recycle old clothing, making it easier for customers to make changes themselves. Finally, Primark stores will also educate consumers on how to lengthen the lifespan of their wardrobe – from guidance on washing practices to sewing skills.
ASOS
ASOS, a British online fashion retailer, founded in 2000, has pledged to achieve a net-zero impact on the environment by 2030. At the same time, rivals H&M and Zara also plan to improve the use of sustainable raw materials.
In September, ASOS set out new environmental and social targets, which include:
- Giving customers more information on its supply chain;
- Recruiting a more diverse workforce, with 50% female representation across its leadership team;
- Ensuring all of its own-brand products are made from recycled or sustainable materials by 2030;
- Reducing carbon emissions generated by its clothes production and deliveries.
Nick Beighton, the chief executive of ASOS, told the BBC’s Today program:
We need to work with our partners on this to offset any minimal cost increases we anticipate from doing this. The responsibility for a sustainable future lies with all of us, and businesses must lead the way.
He expects more consumers will choose to shop with ASOS based on these commitments.
Critics
However, critics argue that these goals will be challenging to track, as fast-fashion supply chains often lack transparency. In addition, Greenpeace International warned that the term sustainable can cover a broad range of practices, claiming that some of Primark’s “don’t appear ‘sustainable’ enough.”
Viola Wohlgemuth, a campaigner at Greenpeace Germany, added:
For example, Primark’s sustainable cotton program still uses pesticides and fertilizers which damage biodiversity, ecosystems, and the climate.
Fashion is responsible for roughly 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. According to the Carbon Disclosure Project, the apparel and textile manufacturing industry are one of the leading drains on water resources. Environmental campaigners have long criticized the industry for its heavy use of chemicals and water and the millions of items in landfills.
ASOS was also criticized in the latest Royal Society of Arts (RSA) report that found over a third of items listed on its website were made entirely from virgin plastics. In addition, the RSA pointed out that while ASOS had performed better than other firms like Missguided, PrettyLittleThing, and Boohoo, overall, fast fashion firms have a lot more work to do.
Wohlgemuth called for fashion firms to commit to organic cotton and end the use of polyester made from fossil fuels and releases thousands of microplastics when washed or wearing.
In 2019, Slovenian start-up PlanetCare developed special filters specifically designed to catch microfibers that shed from textiles and clothes during washing and drying. PlanetCare filters efficiency was tested in several environments to ensure its effectiveness. The results showed that between 60% to 80% of all microfibers are caught.
