Learn more about the cotton in our clothes

Do you love the feel of cotton as much as we do? Clothes made from cotton are soft, breathable and versatile, and there are so many types to choose from. That’s one of the reasons why it’s the main natural fibre used by our suppliers to make our clothes. You’ll find cotton in more than half of all the clothes you can buy from Primark, from our tees and jeans to towels and baby grows.

Cotton: Aiming for Lower Environmental Impact

The materials we use to make our clothes are central to our goal of reducing our environmental impact. One of our key commitments through Primark Cares is around cotton, and by 2027, we want all the cotton in our clothing to be organic, recycled or sourced from the Primark Cotton Project (formerly the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme).

We’re working with cotton farmers to adopt practices that help reduce environmental harm, like using less water and fewer chemicals. These methods not only benefit the planet but also help improve crop yields, supporting farmers' livelihoods.

Our Primark Cotton Project

Since 2013, we’ve been working with CottonConnect and local partners in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh through the Primark Cotton Project to help farmers grow cotton using methods that reduce environmental impact, e.g. with less water and fewer pesticides.

The Primark Cotton Project is the largest cotton training initiative led by a single fashion retailer, and we’ve surpassed our goal of training 275,000 farmers by the end of 2023, with over 299,000 farmers now trained in these practices. Currently, 46% of our cotton clothing includes cotton that is organic, recycled or sourced from the Primark Cotton Project.

To read more click here.

Recycled Cotton

Our other ambition is to use more recycled cotton. We are partnering with a Spanish company called Recover™ that produces recycled cotton fibre for our suppliers, using offcuts of cotton materials. The discarded fabric from production waste is mechanically chopped and transformed into new fibre, which in turn becomes your Primark clothes!

The recycling process is part of what’s called a “closed loop” system that’s designed to eliminate waste. These recycled fibres, however, tend to be shorter – which means they aren’t as strong; that’s why recycled cotton is always blended with virgin cotton or other fibres to maintain the high quality of our products.

Organic Cotton

While cotton from the Primark Cotton Project is grown using fewer chemical fertilisers and pesticides, often from seed that has been genetically modified. Organic cotton uses no chemical fertilisers and pesticides and is not grown using genetically modified seed. Currently, organic cotton makes up only about 1% of all the world’s cotton that’s produced, which makes it more difficult for Primark suppliers to source it. So, for us to make the affordable clothes our customers want, we also need to use other types of cotton.