Primark joins The Fashion ReModel circularity drive

Value fashion retail giant Primark its upping its eco credentials, becoming one of the early participants in Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s The Fashion ReModel initiative.

The project involves leading brands from across the fashion industry taking action to scale circular business models.

Announced during the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, Primark joins the initiative alongside other high-profile brands including H&M Group, Zalando, Arc’teryx and Reformation. It’s also supported by the British Fashion Council, Global Fashion Agenda, Fashion for Good, Textile Exchange and the Waste & Resources Action Programme.

Participants will explore how to unlock barriers to scaling new revenue streams across resale, rental, repair and remaking.

Primark said the initiative aligns with its own commitment to give clothes a longer life, which is part of its wider sustainability strategy, ‘Primark Cares’.

Additionally, while 55% of its clothing is made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials already, the retailer said it’s committed to making that 100% by 2030.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it’s predicted that if resale, rental, repair and the remaking of fashion could reach a 23% market share by 2030, in aggregate, this could lead to an overall CO2e emissions reduction for the fashion industry of up to 16%.

Primark noted it’s been making pre-loved clothing more accessible to customers in-store since it partnered with the Vintage Wholesale Company in 2022 to offer vintage clothing via Wornwell concessions. Developments are also already under way for new customer offerings across pre-owned, including a trial of ‘Primark presents Pre-loved’ across seven UK stores later this month, featuring an exclusive curated collection of vintage music tees in time for festival season.

Nick Lambert, Circular Product Lead at the retailer, said: “There needs to be greater acceleration towards circularity in the fashion industry to move away from the traditional take, make, waste model. 

“We started small with our circularity ambitions but are working to scale this within our business so it can be truly embedded in the way we design and make our clothes in the future. Scaling circularity has taken some time, but we truly believe we can use our scale to help deliver real change for the industry.”