Is Primark ethical?
Our research highlights several ethical issues with Primark concerning its animal welfare policies, workers’ rights enforcement within its supply chains, and its climate change initiatives.
Below we provide an overview of these issues. To see the full detailed stories, and Primark's overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe.
Workers in Primark's supply chain
Primark's stated policies suggest a strong commitment to workers’ rights. Their supplier code of conduct mandates living wages and non-discrimination.
Primark reports mapping 95% of its direct suppliers and collaborating with trade unions for workplace representation. However, it's important to consider the practical implementation and effectiveness of these policies.
A January 2023 report by the University of Aberdeen and Transform Trade highlighted unfair practices by clothing companies affecting Bangladeshi suppliers. The report stated that suppliers identified major brands, including Primark, as exhibiting the highest proportion of unfair practices such as order cancellations, price reductions, refusal to pay for dispatched goods, and payment delays exceeding three months.
In March 2022, workers also reported a number of violations at factories in Myanmar, that had previously or were currently in the Primark supply chain, including unfair dismissal and child labour.
Primark responded to the allegations in November 2023. It stated that it had ended its relationship with a number of factories prior to the allegations, and was investigating several other issues.
Primark and animal welfare standards
Primark receives a low score in Ethical Consumer’s animal welfare category. The brand's use of animal products like leather and wool is a concern. While some policies exist to prevent the worst animal welfare outcomes, they are not comprehensive, leaving many animal products without adequate welfare standards.
Ethical Consumer also found animal rights issues with Primark’s owner, Associated British Foods (ABF), which sells meat and dairy products such as bacon and ham through a number of ABF's other brands. It did not have a policy prohibiting factory farming.
Fast fashion's heavy carbon footprint
Primark has identified its main climate impacts as those in its ‘value chain’, stating that they make up 99% of its total carbon footprint. It stated that its total ‘Scope 3 emissions’ (which mostly come from the manufacture of its products) had decreased by 4% since its baseline year of 2019.
However, as Just Style commented, “The brand’s business model relies on the rapid turnover of inexpensive clothing, encouraging a culture of disposability. Every purchase from Primark contributes to a cycle of mass production, notorious for its heavy carbon footprint.”
Primark and tax avoidance
The financial ethics of Primark's parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF), are also under scrutiny. The company has several subsidiaries in tax havens like Mauritius and Hong Kong, which raises concerns, as they could be there to facilitate tax avoidance. ABF lacks a clear policy against tax avoidance in its Tax Strategy and has not explained the purpose of these subsidiaries.
The text above was written June 2024 and updated September 2026, with research conducted in July and August 2026.