Primark

Reasons to avoid

1. Primark was named among brands with the highest proportion of unfair purchasing practices in a 2023 University of Aberdeen and Transform Trade survey of 1,000 Bangladeshi garment factories, including order cancellations, price reductions, and payments delayed beyond three months. Nearly one in five surveyed factories struggled to pay the Bangladeshi minimum wage as a direct result of these practices.stv.tv2023-01-08
2. In 2024, over 400 workers at Primark supplier factories in Bangladesh were fired and hundreds faced criminal charges after peacefully protesting an inadequate minimum wage. Primark made no public statement demanding their reinstatement, drawing sharp criticism from labour rights group Labour Behind the Label, before eventually suspending new orders at offending factories.ethicalconsumer.org2024-02-08
3. The Dutch Advertising Code Authority ruled in 2023 that Primark's in-store posters made misleading sustainability claims, including "Reduce CO2 emissions by 50%" and "Organic, recycled, sustainable and affordable cotton," presenting future targets as current achievements. Primark appealed, but the Board of Appeal upheld the ruling and found the company also lacked concrete plans to achieve the advertised ambitions.dutchnews.nl2023-10-25
4. A 2023 Changing Markets Foundation investigation using hidden AirTag trackers found that a hoodie donated to Primark's clothing take-back scheme ended up dumped in a skip at an industrial estate, despite being in good condition. More than three-quarters of all tracked items across 10 brands were destroyed, abandoned, or shipped to Africa rather than being reused as the schemes promised.changingmarkets.org2023-07-24
5. Workers at factories in Myanmar that were in Primark's supply chain reported in 2022 violations including unfair dismissal and child labour. Primark did not respond to the allegations until November 2023, at which point it stated it had ended relationships with some factories and was investigating others.ethicalconsumer.org2023-11-01