// Primark is expanding its Sustainable Cotton Programme to train an additional 125,000 smallholder cotton farmers
// The expansion is expected to increase the amount of sustainable cotton available for its products by 60%
Primark has pledged to add another 125,000 smallholder farmers to its Sustainable Cotton Programme, taking the total number to more than 275,000 by the end of 2023.
The company says it represents an 80% expansion to the programme to train cotton farmers in less environmentally-damaging production methods, making it the largest of its kind by any single retailer.
Primark says the move is a significant step towards its goal of ensuring that all cotton in its clothes will be organic, recycled or from its Sustainable Cotton Programme by 2027.
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Primark said the expansion is also expected to increase the amount of sustainable cotton available for its products by 60%, with 27% of its cotton clothing fully traceable from a farmers’ village to shop-floor.
It pledged that 100% of the cotton in its clothes would be sourced from its sustainable cotton programme, organic or recycled by 2027 and also committed 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.
Lynne Walker, Director at Primark Cares, 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.”
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