Primark unveils three-year partnership with Unicef

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jul 19, 2018

Primark has committed to donating a total of $6 million to Unicef in a three-year partnership that will support the charity’s work in Cambodia and worldwide.

The Irish clothing giant will contribute $4 million to fund an education programme for vulnerable children in Cambodia, where the company has contracts with 21 factories for the manufacture of cheap fast fashion clothes.

The education programme will include targeted support for children from minority language groups, children with disabilities and girls, investment in school sanitation facilities, and training for teachers in positive discipline approaches.

Cambodia is one of the world’s biggest fast fashion export countries alongside Bangladesh, and its garment workers regularly suffer from  poor working conditions, poor wages and health problems as they manufacture clothing for some of the world’s biggest brands.

In addition to the children’s programme in Cambodia, Primark has committed $1.5 million towards Unicef’s worldwide emergency response operations. This will support the charity’s work worldwide.

“We are proud to launch this partnership with Unicef today,” Primark chief executive officer Paul Marchant said in a statement on Wednesday. “As an international brand we are excited to be collaborating with a global organisation which shares our commitment to making a difference in communities that most need support.”

"We recognise the importance of education in enabling every child to fulfil their potential, and we are pleased to be able to support Unicef as they work to break down some of the barriers to education for children in Cambodia.”

Primark’s products are also manufactured in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Myanmar, Pakistan, Germany, Ireland, Turkey and China. The company has been working hard to provide more transparency in its supply chain, and launched an online Global Sourcing Map earlier this year.