Primark has launched a durability and repair initiative as part of its Primark Cares commitment to “give clothes a longer life” in its latest sustainability push.
The value fashion giant has teamed up with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) charity through its Textile 2030 agreement, which aims to accelerate the UK fashion industry towards achieving a circular economy.
The initiative supports Primark’s pledge to establish a recognised standard for durability by 2025 “to ensure that customers can be assured that what they buy will last, no matter how much they can afford to spend”.
Primark has also partnered with environmental and behaviour change experts Hubbub and the University of Leeds School of Design to test the physical durability of its products as well as understand consumer wearing and washing habits.
Following a successful 12-month trial of 43 repair workshops across the UK and Republic of Ireland last year, Primark will scale up its free clothing repair workshops across Europe, as well as launch a new online hub providing shoppers with tutorials such as threading a needle and sewing on buttons and zips.
Primark’s tutorials will also be available across its social media channels “to maximise the reach of the repair skills”, which the fashion retailer said are increasingly important during the cost-of-living crisis.
Primark Cares director Lynne Walker said: “We believe passionately that more sustainable fashion should be affordable for all and whatever your budget you should be able to trust that the clothes you are buying meet a certain standard and can go the distance. This has never been more important for our customers.
“That’s why we want to see the introduction of a durability standard across the fashion industry, and we want to understand more about the behaviours and attitudes which impact how we all wear and care for our clothes.
“We know that many clothes that are discarded may still have plenty of wear left in them and that’s why we want to help people learn new repair skills to be able to sew, fix a button or even customise a piece of clothing and give it a new lease of life.”
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