Value fashion retailer Primark has produced free curriculum-based teaching resources for UK secondary schools to help raise awareness of ethical issues.
The retailer, which is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), has partnered with education experts EdComs to create the teaching resources, which can be accessed online.
They explore Primark’s business in the areas of the environment, ethics and the clothing journey to help provide a relevant case study for 11 to 16-year-olds.
Primark is a destination store for teenagers and one that is often used in classrooms by secondary school teachers as a well-known case study.
The teaching tools provide an introductory film, flexible activity ideas and discussion points for use across a range of subjects including Business Studies, Geography, Citizenship, Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education and Religious Education courses.
One discussion point, for example, looks at why clothing companies manufacture abroad, encouraging students to consider how the factors of production, including the availability of labour and land, affect where a manufacturer locates its production sites.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThey identify reasons to source materials and manufacture in low-cost countries, identify possible differences in the business environment between the UK and Ireland, and the countries where Primark sources its clothes, and then suggest how a responsible company could take steps to protect local workers and the environment.
Students are also encouraged to think about the importance of, and potential need for, supporting workers in countries where brands source their products. In addition, there are discussion questions on some moral and ethical issues around clothing manufacture.
To watch the films and download activities, teachers can register and login using their school email address and postcode for verification.
Last year Katharine Stewart, Primark’s director of ethical trade, spoke to just-style about the retailer’s work to engage more closely with its supply chain: in particular, turning its focus to ensuring all the cotton in its products is sourced sustainably.
Why Primark is working to do “the right thing”
