Faced with growing criticism of the textile sector for the pollution it generates, the low-cost clothing chain Primark promises to manufacture more sustainable clothing by 2030. The brand is among those qualified as "
Fast fashion
" (or disposable mode).
A mode of consumption that no longer meets the current demands of a growing number of consumers.
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The criticisms are not just about the environmental impact. On the social side, the clothing sector has seen its image tarnished by the tragedy of the collapse in April 2013 of Rana Plaza, a clothing workshop in Dhaka (Bangladesh), or by reports on the use by certain brands of cotton produced by forced labor by Uyghurs in China.
Aware of the need to adapt to this new situation, Primark is committed to "
making all clothing from recycled materials or from more sustainable sources
" or "
to halve carbon emissions overall. of the value chain
”.
The clothes it sells will also have to be designed from the outset to have a longer lifespan by 2025 and to be able to be recycled by 2027, the statement continued.
Modest cost increase
The commitments also relate to the remuneration of textile workers in a sector often accused of making its employees work for salaries that do not allow a decent living and sometimes in insufficient sanitary conditions.
Primark says that all workers in its global supply chain should have a living wage by 2030.
Read alsoPrimark, mini-prices and maxi-profits
This strategy "
will only lead to a modest increase in costs
" for the company by 2030, estimates its parent company, adding that it is an "
opportunity to stimulate sales growth
".
“
Our ambition is to provide consumers with affordable prices that they know and love us for, but with products that are made in a better way for the planet and those who make them,
” said Primark CEO Paul Marchant. , in another press release.
The lockdowns weighed heavily on the ready-to-wear brand, which notably closed all of its 189 stores in the United Kingdom in March 2020 and whose sales had plunged by 30% in the last four months of the year.
But its revenues have rebounded this year thanks to the reopening of all its stores, to reach 1.6 billion pounds in its staggered third quarter ending on June 19, 2021, against 600 million pounds a year earlier, had announced. the group in early July.
