Launching our Circular Product Standard

It was these words that helped to inspire and focus our ambition as we set out to create Primark’s Circular Product Standard (CPS) more than two years ago. Primark's CPS is a set of design principles that will live and grow within our business as we strive to give our clothes a longer life. It's built on the vision for a circular economy for fashion by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global thought leader on circularity, and by climate action NGO WRAP. These principles are part of the overarching Primark Cares strategy, our ambition to offer more sustainable fashion that is affordable for all.

To help translate theory into practice, we've worked extensively with designers and buyers across Primark, while also consulting with suppliers and industry experts.

Last year, we tested the CPS with some of our Product Teams and key suppliers and their feedback proved invaluable in helping us get to this point today.

To take this forward, we're launching a bespoke circular design training programme later this year which will educate more of our Product Teams and key suppliers on the theory and practice of a circular economy. The CPS sits at the heart of this, helping to enable its application across our business, from design to the making of our clothes. The CPS also supports our customer education programme on clothing repair and our efforts to improve the durability of our clothes.

Read more from Nicholas Lambert, Circularity Lead at Primark

Overall, we hope that the CPS will provoke a broader discussion within the industry so we that can agree on the definition of what makes a circular product and discuss how we can integrate circular design in every business within the fashion industry, in addition to sharing opportunities and challenges in this space. We also hope it will support future legislative decisions around eco-design in the key territories we currently operate in, including the EU, UK and US.

Personally, I'd like to thank all my colleagues, suppliers and partners that supported our ambition to drive this forward. This includes our industry partners – the circularity think tank Circle Economy and the non-profit sustainability educator Sustainable Fashion Academy, in addition to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF).

To move a business the size and scale of Primark isn’t easy, but I am proud of where we are today. We know this is just the first step, and that we don’t yet have all the answers. But to make a fresh start, you must begin with the end in mind. We welcome and invite collaboration so that together we can learn, encourage innovation, and support our ultimate ambition that old clothes can become new clothes. As this space continues to evolve and move forward, we plan to update our CPS periodically and we look forward to sharing our progress with you all.

Nicholas Lambert
Circular Product Lead