Primark extends Sustainable Cotton Programme

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Mar 8, 2016

On International Women's Day, March 8, Primark, the Irish fast fashion retailer, revealed that it has extended its Sustainable Cotton Programme for six more years.

It is a partnership between Primark, CottonConnect and the Self-Employed Women’s Association, and supports 10,000 female smallholders from traditionally male-dominated farming communities in Gujarat, India. The programme helps the women introduce sustainable farming methods, improve cotton yields and increase their incomes.

The initial three-year pilot trained 1,251 women smallholders, resulting in an average profit increase of 211%. The next six years will see an additional 10,000 female farmers taken through the programme. It's the first time the SEWA has been approached to collaborate with a western brand and a specialist agricultural organisation to bring about lasting, sustainable change.

SEWA said that by the second year of the programme, female farmers engaged in the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme recorded:

* An average profit increase of 211%
* An average yield increase of 12.6%
* A reduction of input costs by 5%
* A 13.5% reduction of fertiliser usage and a 53.5% reduction of pesticide usage, indicating that environmentally sustainable farming methods are being adopted
* A water usage decrease by 12.9%, indicating that water efficiency practices are being adopted.

Alison Ward, CottonConnect’s CEO, said: “Achieving gender equality and empowering women is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but no one government, NGO, charity, business or brand can effect positive change alone. Working with the Primark team and the Self Employed Women’s Association, we’ve been able to develop a unique programme that tackles some of the challenges faced in achieving gender equality in farming communities."

Paul Lister, responsible for Primark’s Ethical Trading Team, said: “Primark has been working hard for the last decade to ensure that the rights of workers within our global supply chain are respected, and the lives of people working within the garment industry in emerging markets change as industrialisation brings new jobs and opportunities."

The most recent sales figures for Primark show a 7.5% year-on-year sales increase in the six months to February 27. The company is currently expanding in the US.