Shopping in-store more sustainable than online, claims Primark owner

Associated British Foods chief executive George Weston told The Times that the scale of Primark and its supply chain meant it didn’t have to air freight goods. He claimed the high street staple was “a solution” to fashion’s sustainability issues, not the cause.

“[Primark has] one of the world’s best supply chains and we don’t air freight the goods, we ship them, which has far lower emissions,” he said. “Far from being a problem, we are a solution”.

Weston also said that young, eco-minded shoppers should “order clothes online and collect in-store” as the click-and-collect model “is more environmentally stable” than last-mile delivery alone.

Weston was defending Primark’s environmental record, following the news that like-for-like sales in Europe were being dragged down 2.9% by sustainability-conscious German shoppers.

Talking to Retail Week about the issue, ABF finance director John Bason said German consumers did not know about Primark’s work around sustainability. “There’s a difference between perception and reality,” he said.

In October 2018, Primark was one of 10 fashion retailers written to by Mary Creagh MP, the chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, to address measures they are taking to “minimise the environmental and social impact of the goods they sell”.

Primark and other retailers were also criticised over how much clothing ends up in landfill.

Weston said he did not “believe most of our shoppers throw away clothes, in the areas where our shops are I don’t think [customers] are buying them to wear them just once”.

The committee went on to find that Primark, alongside Asos, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Burberry, was one of the most engaged retailers on sustainability issues because of its efforts on recycling and ethical cotton.