Primark introduced its first collection of denim made with post-consumer waste.
Each product contains a minimum of 20 percent recycled denim. Primark says the five-piece collection has been carefully designed to be longer lasting and to remove common barriers for end-of-life recycling. This includes removing stretch and avoiding unnecessary metal like rivets and using recyclable trims with a single main material.
The remainder of the textiles is made using cotton from the Primark Cotton Project. The initiative supports cotton farmers across India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan by helping them adopt farming practices which use less water and fewer chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
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The denim collection is made up of five garments across men’s and women’s. Women’s styles include a shaped waistcoat, a boyfriend jacket and barrel jeans. A Trucker jacket and baggy jeans are available for women.
The collection aligns with Primark’s efforts to strengthen its circularity in its business. Every item has been tested to the retailer’s highest durability standards in line with its Durability Framework. This process assesses garment performance through up to 45 wash cycles. The aspirational wash level is based on the average number of washes over a garment’s intended lifetime, calculated using an average across all clothing categories as defined by the WRAP Clothing Longevity Protocol.
Incorporating recycled content into denim has been an area of focus for the brand. In 2021, Primark released its first denim collection made in accordance with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign guidelines, a set of principles created to increase the quality and recyclability of new denim. Garments contained up to 29 percent recycled cotton.
The new recycled cotton collection is available enow in 49 Primark stores across eight countries: Great Britian, Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The collection retails for £18-£24.
