DUBLIN — November 1, 2021 — Primark has launched a new denim collection designed and created to show what circular fashion means in practice.
The new collection is part of The Jeans Redesign, a project from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s fashion initiative, featuring denim that’s designed, produced and created to align with the Foundation’s vision of a circular economy for fashion. Based on the principles of the circular economy, the guidelines ensure jeans are used more, made to be made again, and are made from safe and recycled or renewable inputs.
As a participant of the project, Primark has released a new collection of jeans and denim jackets, featuring denim that is made from organic cotton and recycled fibers and that has been designed to be easily recycled so that they have the potential to be turned into new jeans once they can no longer be worn. The product is metal rivet-free, a common design element that can make jeans difficult to recycle. Labelling also includes guidelines on removing buttons and zips before sending to recycle to ensure this product has another life.
The jeans are made from 70-percent organic cotton, 29-percent recycled cotton and 1-percent elastane and the jackets are made from 80-percent organic cotton and 20-percent recycled cotton.
The collection includes denim jeans for women (£19) and denim jeans for men (£18), as well as an adult denim jacket for £21. The collection is available in store now in 161 stores across all 14 countries Primark operates in.
Lynne Walker, Director of Primark Cares said: “In September we launched our Primark Cares sustainability strategy and committed to making changes to the way we make our clothes, ensuring that that they are recyclable by design by 2027, that they are made from more sustainably sourced or recycled materials by 2030, and that they last longer by 2025. Denim is a wardrobe staple for our customers, from denim jeans to denim jackets, and I am proud of this new collection, which brings to life our ambition and shows what these changes look like in reality. Most importantly, we are showing that we can do this without compromising on the style and affordability that our customers love from us.”
Laura Balmond, Lead Make Fashion Circular at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said: “The Jeans Redesign demonstrates that it is possible to create garments fit for a circular economy today, and this is just the beginning. By taking these first steps, organisations like Primark build the confidence to explore and learn how to put products on the market aligned with circular economy principles. We’re pleased to see the solutions identified by Primark and the growing understanding of the challenges that must be addressed to achieve the vision of a circular economy for fashion. Now the concept has been proven, we cannot delay progress. There is a need for industry and government to continue driving momentum, at pace and scale, towards a circular economy for fashion.”
The new circular denim collection follows on from the launch of Primark’s sustainability strategy launched last month. In it the international retailer outlined its plans to reduce fashion waste, halve carbon emissions across its value chain and improve the lives of the people who make Primark products. Underpinned by nine commitments stretching across the business, Primark is accelerating its work over the next few years to become a circular and more sustainable business. Key commitments include using recycled and more sustainably sourced materials in all of its clothing by 2030 – up from 25% today, ensuring clothes are designed to be recycled and improving the durability of clothing. It is also working to reduce carbon emissions by half across every stage of Primark product – from the farms where raw materials are sourced, through production and manufacturing, to when a customer purchases a Primark product in-store. When it comes to the people who make its products, Primark is working to protect and improve the lives of people who make its clothes by working to pursue a living wage by 2030.
Posted November 4, 2021
Source: Primark
