Primark’s cotton project in India has helped women across the country become empowered and support themselves. In addition, the project teaches women effective farming techniques and fights poverty by spreading transferable skills.

Life for Women in India

Life for women in India has recently undergone a monumental change: women’s employment rate has doubled from 22% in 2017-18 to 40.3% in 2023-24, according to the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB). The scale of this shift is even more striking given that it occurred in just seven years.

Female employment has risen by 96% in rural India and 43% in urban India. This progress can be attributed to multiple factors, one of which is Primark’s cotton project in India. The project is one of the ways equal opportunities are being created for women while also helping combat global poverty.

How the Cotton Project Helps

To understand why Primark’s cotton project in India is so effective, it’s important to look at where Indian women are employed. According to the Institute for Youth in Policy (YIP), more than 50% of India’s GDP comes from the informal sector, which makes up 85% of the country’s workforce. Within this, most women are concentrated in just four sectors:

• Apparel
• Textiles
• Tobacco
• Food products

According to Data for India, these sectors account for 78% of women in manufacturing. More than half of these women work in two activities: custom tailoring (apparel) and bidi production (tobacco). As of 2024, apparel remains women’s most popular manufacturing sector, employing 42.39% of them.

The Primark Cotton Project in India supports women by partnering with organizations that advocate for female workers, most notably, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). Together with Primark, SEWA has helped train 300,000 farmers since the project’s launch in 2013, with support from CottonConnect.

The project is also beneficial because it:

• Teaches women how to farm more effectively, using less water and fewer chemicals
• Develops farming skills that can be applied immediately
• Provides a pathway to improved incomes and lifestyles for women across India

From Primark’s perspective, the project has benefited many and serves as a way to empower women.

The Bigger Picture

According to CottonConnect, the Primark Cotton Project in India has been an even greater success. For example, the project is estimated to have reached 26,000 people in rural India. This reach is especially significant given that 32.5% of rural Indians live in poverty.

Another success has been the cultural shift toward women becoming authoritative figures who are well respected. This shift helps combat poverty by opening up higher-paying roles for women, positively impacting family support and education.

The Future

Going forward, Primark’s Cotton Project in India will remain one of the many ways women in India can feel empowered, support their families and improve their lifestyles. For Primark, this initiative also brings benefits as the company works toward a healthier environment while strengthening communities of Indian women.

The key takeaway is that big brands and recognizable names like Primark can drive change in multiple ways. All it takes is one voice; eventually, more will follow, leading to meaningful improvements for those in need or less fortunate.

– Ibrahim Sule

Ibrahim is based in Manchester, UK and focuses on Good News and Technology for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons