‘Asos and Primark’s ESG targets are on the right track, but time is running out’

When two of the biggest fashion retailers in the UK revealed their sustainability initiatives last week, the industry waited with bated breath. However, while the strategies are impressive on paper, concrete details on how they will be achieved are less forthcoming.

Fashion is one of the world’s biggest polluters, contributing around 10% of global carbon emissions. While no one is expecting Asos and Primark to solve the problem by themselves, the situation demands more definite plans and more immediate goals.

For Asos, its Fashion with Integrity programme hinges on four key pillars: “Be net-zero; be more circular; be transparent; and be diverse.”

Chief executive Nick Beighton called the announcement a “pretty significant milestone for Asos”, intended to “refresh” and make “bolder” the fashion retailer’s targets.

“One of the key questions we ask is ‘what should we do when we have this position of influence in the sector?’”

Nick Beighton, Asos

“Fashion with integrity has been at the heart of our business since 2010,” he said.

“The reasons are really simple – we all ask ourselves the difficult questions and we didn’t want to be found wanting. One of the key questions we ask is ‘what should we do when we have this position of influence in the sector?’”

The reality is that, while Asos has signed up to the Science Based Targets programme, it is by no means a trailblazer, with the likes of Next, Inditex and H&M already setting targets to achieve a 1.5°C future (the programme’s minimum ambition for corporate target-setting above pre-industrial levels).

Asos’ other commitments are decidedly vague: “prioritising circular design” and ensuring own-brand products are “more sustainable or recycled” by 2030 – a distant target.

“What we are talking about is about using different materials in the way we produce our garments,” said Beighton. 

“Over 85% of cotton that goes into Asos Design is sustainably sourced by the Better Cotton Initiative and we’re aiming to have 100% by 2025.”

There is nothing in the pureplay fashion giant’s sustainability plans to limit garment production and Beighton is unapologetic about its plans to continue focusing on growing customer basket sizes. 

“Customers will decide how much they want to put in their baskets,” he said. “We’ve got ambitious growth targets and one of the ways we see that is by showing leadership in various areas to influence the way others do things, influence customers and show other parts of the sector how you can make clothing in a more sustainable way with less raw materials, and consuming fewer resources in production.

“We’ve already made great progress on this and intend to do more of the same.”

Primark’s central environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, called Primark Cares, focuses instead on “giving clothes a longer life”, “halving our carbon footprint” and “improving people’s lives”.

The response to Primark Cares has been somewhat lukewarm; GlobalData Retail’s UK research director Patrick O’Brien sums it up when he wonders who the announcement is really aimed at. 

“It’s notable that its announcement is aimed not at its customers, but at its investors,” he said. 

“It is logical, though, as investors are the ones who are driving companies to be more sustainable in order to meet their own sustainability criteria, rather than shoppers.”

Primark’s strategy says that every product will be made from “recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030”. Currently, 25% of its range meets these criteria.

For such a big international retailer, 25% is admirable at the moment. However, its “next step” – to transition the production of all men’s, women’s and kids’ entry-price-point T-shirts to sustainably sourced cotton in the next year – seems like a relatively small stride considering the scale of the problem.

“We don’t have all the answers and we know we can’t do it alone. We’re committed to working in partnership with the industry to drive real change at scale”

Paul Marchant, Primark

Chief executive Paul Marchant said in the statement that it marks a ”new and exciting chapter in the Primark story”.

“Our ambition is to offer customers the affordable prices they know and love us for, but with products that are made in a way that is better for the planet and the people who make them,” he said.

“This isn’t the start of our journey. Our new commitments mark a significant acceleration in the pace and scale of change, requiring us to think differently about how we do business, right from how our clothes are designed and manufactured through to how we sell them in stores.

“We don’t have all the answers and we know we can’t do it alone. We’re committed to working in partnership with the industry to drive real change at scale.”

While Primark doesn’t have all the answers, it has at least taken steps to collaborate with industry bodies such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on its journey towards circularity, unlike its pureplay competitor. It has also signed up to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and Textiles 2030.

The fact that two of the UK’s largest fashion retailers are unveiling such plans at all is more than a step in the right direction.

However, until retailers see real demand from their customers for more sustainable items, it seems the pace and investment needed to save the planet won’t be prioritised – and by then it may be too late.