// Primark will train 160,000 cotton farmers in China, India & Pakistan in sustainability drive
// The sustainable cotton programme is due to be completed by 2022
// It will lead to a five-fold increase in the number of farmers enrolled in the programme
Primark is set to train 160,000 cotton farmers in China, India and Pakistan to teach them environmentally-friendly farming practices in a move to further its sustainability methods.
The value fashion retailer is running the scheme, which is due for completion in 2022, as part of its sustainable cotton programme, The Guardian reported.
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The sustainable cotton is currently being used in women’s pyjamas, a range of denim, towels and bedding, and is expected to be used in menswear and t-shirts next.
The announcement will lead to a five-fold increase in the number of farmers enrolled in the programme, in partnership with Cotton Connect and the Self Employed Women’s Association trade union.
Primark’s ethical trade and environmental sustainability director Katharine Stewart said the retailer tried its best at reducing the use of fertilisers and pesticides.
“But equally what we don’t want is for the farmers not to be able to deal with some of the pests when they have them,” she said.
She added that Primark was “looking at what we can do to influence customers to wear clothes for longer and what they can do with them when they no longer want them”.
Meanwhile, to further prove its sustainability initiatives, Primark said it was trialling recycling units at its flagship in Birmingham, which is its largest store to date.
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