United Kingdom retailer Primark has released the second iteration of its Circular Product Standard with new goals and updates on the progress it has made since introducing the first version in 2023.
The initial standard was based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision for a circular economy in fashion—where products and materials are kept in circulation through processes such as maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling and composting. Since that initial launch, Primark has developed circular design guidelines for nine product areas, including denim, jersey, knitwear, nightwear, shirts, skirts, blouses, dresses and leisurewear.
After “three years of learning, testing and collaboration,” the revised standard outlines Primark’s approach to circular design for itself and its suppliers. The Circular Product Standard 2.0 focuses on several areas, including durability, materials and recyclability.
The standard addresses those tenets by designing products in line with its Durability Framework, which had the goal of improving the durability of its clothing by 2025. That push included testing for factors such as shrinkage, color, appearance, and abrasion and pilling. Primark also partnered with global environmental action NGO Wrap, which works to transform product systems to improve circularity.
Primark has also held hundreds of “Love It for Longer” repair workshops in the U.K., Europe and the United States, along with online tutorials, to teach customers how to mend clothing bought at the store.
During the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Primark said that 5 percent of clothing units sold at its stores were circular by design, and this increased to 20 percent of jersey and 8 percent of denim garments. In that same period, the Associated British Foods-owned company reported that 74 percent of its clothing units sold contained recycled or sustainably sourced fibers, according to Primark’s 2025 Sustainability and Ethics Progress Report.
Primark aims to build on that growth with the Circular Product Standard 2.0, which it said focuses on solutions that are “practical, achievable and scalable.” Examples of those changes include reducing the depth of elasticated waistbands and removing non-functional metal details such as rivets. The company has introduced a new “progressive” design level, which sets clearer expectations for more advanced design by raising requirements around materials, durability and recyclability, including post-consumer recycled textiles. Primark also identified more recyclable printing techniques to improve reuse.
“As we relaunch and update our Circular Product Standard, we do so with the benefit of having learned a lot over the past three years. We know that we haven’t solved every challenge or answered every question—far from it,” said Nicholas Lambert, head of circularity and materials at Primark. “Instead, we hope this updated approach reflects our commitment to learn and continue to achieve progress (not perfection) in collaboration with our partners, suppliers, and colleagues. We continue to firmly believe that circular fashion should be affordable for all. We hope that this updated Circular Product Standard 2.0 will support that ambition.”
Primark said it’s reviewing its wider sustainability strategy to focus on areas where it can have the greatest impact in line with evolving regulations and customer expectations. And the company has introduced circular design training for employees developed in partnership with the Circular Textiles Foundation. Any buyer joining Primark is offered this training in circular design.
Primark Rolls Out Updated Circular Product Standard
