Understanding the Fibers in Your Clothes

Our Primark Cares label is changing

Have you noticed? We’ve had a collection of clothing labeled with the "Primark Cares" logo in our stores and online. The products in this collection are made using recycled or more sustainably sourced fibers, included in the list below.

However, we’ve now progressed to a point where a significant majority of our clothes are now made using these fibers, and these numbers are continuing to increase. So we’ve decided we no longer need a separate Primark Cares collection.

What does that mean for me?

You’ll soon notice that the Primark Cares logo won’t be included on our product labels or on our website product pages. Updates to our product labels take time, so it may be a while before the logo is fully phased out.

But don’t worry – removing the logo is all that's changing! We'll continue to increase the use of recycled or more sustainably sourced materials in our clothes. You'll still be able find out what our products are made of on our website and on product labels in stores.

You can read more about our Primark Cares commitments here.

Primark Fibers

Plant-derived fibers

We define these as fibers which are sourced and harvested directly from plants.

Organic Cotton

Cotton is a soft fiber grown on cotton plants. Organic cotton is grown using methods which have a lower environmental impact than growing conventional cotton. It is certified to a universally recognized high standard (either Organic Content Standard (OCS) or Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).

Cotton from the Primark Cotton Project (formerly the Primark Sustainable Cotton Program)

This cotton comes from our Primark Cotton Project, the biggest of its kind of any fashion retailer. This program trains farmers to grow cotton using less water, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which helps reduce the environmental impact of the cotton we source and improve farmer livelihoods. You can find out more here.

Modal, Lyocell and sustainable viscose

Modal, Lyocell and more sustainable viscose are fibers made using the cellulose found in wood. To protect ancient forests and their biodiversity, the wood used to make these fibers is sourced from responsibly managed forests. Our Wood and Wood-Derived Fiber Policy sets out our approach to responsibly sourcing these materials.

More about sustainable viscose

When we talk about sustainable viscose, we use the following criteria:

• It's certified by a recognized forest management certification program.

• It must be sourced from producers that are green rated by Canopy’s Hot Button ranking.

We're also currently exploring a more specific way to describe the viscose fibers we use in our products, and will update our glossary to reflect this in due course.

Recycled Cotton

Recycled cotton is made using cotton waste which is spun into new fibers. Recycled cotton used in a Primark product is verified to a universally recognized high standard; either the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) or the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

Recycled Acrylic

Acrylic is a man-made fiber. Recycled acrylic is made using acrylic fabric waste which is spun into new fibers. Recycled acrylic used in a Primark product is certified to a universally recognized standard: either the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) or the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

Recycled Polyamide (Nylon)

Polyamide is a man-made fiber, often called nylon. Recycled polyamide is made from plastic waste which is spun into new fibers. Recycled polyamide used in a Primark product is certified to a universally recognized standard: either the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) or the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

Recycled Polyester

Polyester is a man-made fiber. Recycled polyester is made from plastic waste which is spun into new fibers. Recycled polyester used in a Primark product is certified to a universally recognized standard: either the Recycled Content Standard (RCS) or the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

Recycled Metal

Recycled metals used at Primark include zinc, steel, brass and iron. These are certified to a universally recognized high standard; either the Recycled Content Standard (RCS) or the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).

More complex product categories like lingerie, swimwear, outerwear, homeware, shoes and toys may include trim, embellishments and/or non-fabric materials. In these cases, the fiber composition claim on the product label will only relate to the part of the product that contains the recycled or more sustainably sourced material. This is so that the product will meet our durability requirements, or because there are currently no more sustainable fiber alternatives available for these trim, embellishments and/or non-fabric materials.

This fiber glossary reflects the majority of the recycled or more sustainably sourced fibers used in our products, and it's regularly updated to reflect any changes. There may be instances where our product labels differ to this glossary, since updates to our product labeling can take some time.