Textile Waste Action: Primark & WRAP

In a move to encourage sustainable fashion, Primark has partnered with the prominent environmental action charity, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). The three-year collaboration will focus on inventing innovative techniques that help reduce textile waste, a rising concern in the fashion industry.
As part of this partnership, Behaviour Change, a subsidiary of WRAP with expertise in behavioural science, will provide crucial insights alongside Yellow Octopus, Primark’s takeback partner. Together, they will explore the motivations and barriers influencing the donation of quality used clothing, particularly to high-street retailers like Primark.
Lynne Walker, Director of Primark Cares, highlighted the brand’s commitment to circular business practices through its Primark Cares strategy. She emphasised that the partnership is essential in helping the retailer better understand how to extend the lifespan of clothing and significantly reduce textile waste.
WRAP’s research highlights the urgency of this initiative, revealing that around 1.6 billion garments are unused in UK wardrobes, and nearly half of all discarded textiles end up in general waste. Despite Primark’s takeback scheme being the fifth most used in the UK, only 22% of respondents had engaged with any such programme.
Catherine David from WRAP stressed the charity’s goal of fostering circular living across both industry and households, aiming to halve the textile sector’s carbon footprint by 2030. This objective aligns with Primark’s vision, marking a notable step towards integrating circular principles into mainstream retail.
Primark’s collaboration with WRAP builds on a long-standing relationship, having joined WRAP’s Sustainable Clothing Action Plan in 2016 and playing a key role in the Textiles 2030 initiative. Through its Primark Cares strategy and Circular Product Standard, the retailer is charting an ambitious course towards sustainability.
This partnership is set to significantly impact the fashion industry by embedding circular practices into everyday retail. (1)

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