Clothing giant Primark has joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a non-profit that helps clothes companies measure their ethical performance. The Higg Index developed by the SAC is a self-assessment tool that allows companies to calculate the sustainability performance of their supply chain and identifies areas that need to be improved. The tool assesses both environmental and social impacts of products.

In a statement, Primark said that it was “committed to reducing the impact that it has on the environment and would use the SAC's sustainability tool to improve the environmental performance of its supply chain. By measuring sustainability performance, the industry can address inefficiencies, resolve damaging practices, and achieve the environmental and social transparency that consumers are starting to demand. By joining forces in a Coalition, we can address the urgent, systemic challenges that are impossible to change alone.

" Almost forty apparel and footwear brands, including Adidas, GAP and H&M, are already members of the SAC, along with manufacturers, retailers, industry affiliates, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), academic institutions and environmental non-profits. Primark was one of several companies implicated in the 2013 collapse of a garment factory in Rana Plaza, Bangladesh, in which more than 1,100 workers lost their lives. Primark contributed $12million in compensation to the workers.

www.primark.com