Alina Oprea • 13 April, 2023 at 5:32 PM
Retailer Primark is announcing that it is launching its first range of products designed and made in such a way that they can be reused or recycled. Currently, 45% of Primark's clothes are already made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, and the company has committed to increasing this percentage to 100% by 2030. The company has also committed to designing and making clothes that can be recycled until 2027.
Each piece in the collection has been designed and manufactured in such a way that it can be repurposed or recycled. From mid-April, customers can shop the new circular collection, designed according to Primark's new circular standard, which is based on the principles set out by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
"From fiber composition to increased durability and recyclability, each piece has been carefully designed to support Primark's ambition to move towards a more circular future. This collection is a first for Primark, to be completed by others during this year", states the company.
Prices vary from RON22 (€4.4) to RON125 (€25).
Each piece in the collection has been designed and manufactured in such a way that it can be repurposed or recycled, with a focus on three key elements:
- Materials from more sustainable sources: clothes in the collection contain at least 95% cotton from Primark's Sustainable Cotton Programme, which guides cotton farmers to use less water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, thus achieving a higher profit. The remaining 5% is made up of decorative elements, trims, or buttons which, where possible, have been designed to be removable or recyclable. Materials from more sustainable sources are materials that have a lower impact on the environment compared to conventional materials.
- Durability: New collection has been tested for increased durability, according to Primark's new standard of increased washing resistance.
- Recyclability: each part is designed to be recycled at the end of its life cycle. This means that, where possible, decorative elements and buttons can be removed so that items can be more easily reused or recycled, either into new fibers or into new products. Customers can drop off their used clothes at the local textile donation point, which is currently available in Primark stores in selected markets.
“This collection brings together years of work and creates a new framework, with the ambition to enable our product teams and suppliers to create more circular products designed with the end in mind. Thus was born our first circular collection of affordable clothing basics that customers can reuse, repair and ultimately recycle,” says Nicholas Lambert, Director of Circular Products at Primark.
Alongside this range, Primark has published its new Circular Product Standard, a framework for how it plans to design products now and in the future. It will be used by Primark's product teams and its suppliers to support Primark's ambition that clothes made are worn for as long as possible and then recycled at the end of their life cycle.
"To address the linear take, make, a waste system in the fashion industry, we need to move to a circular economy, where clothes are used more, made to be transformed and manufactured from safe and recycled or renewable sources. By participating in 'The Jeans Redesign' program and developing their circular product standard, Primark is taking a step forward in its long-term journey towards a circular economy," says Jules Lennon, Fashion Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Developed in collaboration with circularity think tank Circle Economy and non-profit sustainability educator Sustainable Fashion Academy, the new framework is based on the vision for a circular economy in fashion developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a world leader in the circular economy, and on the consultations carried out by WRAP, an NGO active in the field of combating climate change.