Primark Celebrates 10 Years Of Sustainable Cotton Programme
Primark, CottonConnect, and RUDI celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme (PSCP) in Ahmedabad.
The celebration was attended by 150 women farmers associated with the programme from across the state.
Primark, CottonConnect and RUDI launched the PSCP in India in 2013 with 1,251 women farmers with the aim to understand and reduce the environmental impact of cotton production, to support and improve the livelihoods of farmers, and to change the way Primark sources its cotton.
PSCP works particularly with female farmers in India to increase their economic empowerment and self-reliance.
The partners also wanted to address cotton’s complex supply chain and set up a traceable cotton supply chain using CottonConnect’s TraceBale, which helps track and segregate the cotton from farmers in the PSCP to Primark’s supply-chain ginners and spinners.
Ten years on, the programme operates in three countries: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. By August 2022, 252,800 farmers had completed the three-year programme, or are enrolled in it.
“Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme’s 10-year milestone is a testament to our commitment towards reducing the impact on the environment and supporting women farmer livelihoods along with improving the way we source our cotton,” Katharine Stewart, Group Corporate Responsibility Director, Associated British Foods said.
“What started as a pilot is now one of the largest initiatives of its kind by any retailer in the world and has trained more than 252,800 farmers to date. I would like to congratulate our partners CottonConnect and SEWA for their expertise and support, which has made this a success,” Stewart added.
The PSCP involves a three-year agricultural training aligned to CottonConnect’s ‘REEL’ agricultural code, providing farmers with essential skills through peer-to-peer training and tailored content, driving the adoption of more sustainable, scalable agricultural practices.
