Recently, Penneys (known internationally as Primark) announced a new charge for paper bags in their Irish stores: which was heavily relayed in the media. While some praised it as a step toward sustainability and others criticised the added cost for consumers it seems like no one is questioning this as an environmental move to reduce packaging waste, therefore considered as a green initiative... Well we might have a thing or two to say about that.

First of all, this change isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Many retailers across Europe have been doing it for years. More importantly, it’s a textbook example of the “distract” tactic in the common corporate strategy of deny, distract, and delay often used to greenwash and stall real environmental progress.

What is the Deny, Distract and Delay strategy exactly?

This strategy is often used by polluting companies that have been under the spotlight to avoid taking their responsibilities and initiate a real change that might cost them money or ask to revisit their business model in a deeper way.

They will tend to deploy a range of initiatives that will:

• Deny: By downplaying or outright denying the environmental impact of their actions.
• Distract: By highlighting minor green initiatives (like switching to paper bags or using recycled materials) to shift focus away from bigger issues, like overproduction or fairer trade practices.
• Delay: By promising future solutions or long-term goals, making them as vague as possible, instead of taking immediate, meaningful action (all the while continuing harmful practices in the meantime).

For example, identified distract tactics are “appealing to higher loyalties,” which frame climate action as a threat to economic growth, or “justification by comparison,” where companies deflect responsibility by pointing to others as worse offenders.

In our case, pointing out minor changes, exaggerating their importance, impact and portraying them as great efforts/avances gives the appearanceof progress, but it’s really a way to protect profits and avoid new legislation. Companies are then able to appeal to regulating bodies to not mandate anything since they're already doing sooo much on their own.

So the question here is: Is this charge truly addressing the company’s many environmental problems?

The short answer: No.

While reducing unnecessary packaging is always welcome, focusing on paper bags diverts attention from the elephant in the room: the vast environmental damage caused by Penneys’ core business model: fast fashion. The impact of paper bag usage pales in comparison to the environmental footprint of the millions of cheaply made garments the company produces and sells every year.

This announcement forms part of Primark’s broader “Sustainability and Ethics” strategy. The company points to steps like switching some stores to renewable energy, but the most pressing issues are never addressed, and they lie in the very clothes they produce.

Recycled Plastic ≠ Circular Fashion

One of Primark's "strongest" claims is that nearly two-thirds of its products now contain some element of recycled or sustainably sourced materials. However, these materials are often derived from plastic bottles or other single-use plastic sources. This is not a circular system.

True circularity would involve turning old clothes into new clothes, avoiding the use and blends of synthetic fabrics that reduce the clothes' lifespan drastically and make them virtually impossible to recycle. Instead, using PET plastic from bottles to make polyester garments creates a one-way stream that ends in landfills or incinerators all the same. Worse, these synthetic garments continue to shed microplastics throughout their lifecycle as they’re worn, washed, and discarded - contributing to plastic pollution across land and sea.

This strategy also inadvertently props up the plastic industry by providing a new market for their waste, rather than reducing the need for plastic in the first place. The result? An illusion of sustainability that delays the development and investment in genuine circular solutions.

Fast Fashion’s Growth Addiction

At its core, Primark’s business model is built on relentless growth: more stores, more products, more sales. The company forecasts continued expansion this year and beyond. This growth is only made possible through the heavy use of synthetic materials like polyester, which are cheap to produce and cost the planet dearly.

Globally, apparel consumption is expected to rise by 63% by 2030. If this trajectory continues, the fashion industry could consume up to 25% of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. This is not sustainable. True environmental leadership means breaking the addiction to overproduction — producing better, yes, but also producing less.

Repair Starts with Design

One notable action from Penneys’ Ethical and Sustainable strategy is the recent introduction of in-store temporary repair services. This initiative in itself is pretty forward-thinking and is something to be encouraged in circular business models so they can diversify their activities and services to not revolve around buying new only.

Although, two things are missing here that would show this is part of a bigger change: no commitment on reducing volumes, and the fact that Penney's clothes aren't worth repairing in the first place... Let's face it, most of their garments are not designed to last more than a few wears and nothing in their attitude or communication is calling for more responsible consumption based on buying less, better-made products. Blended fabrics, poor stitching, and rapidly shifting trends create a system where repairing clothes is often more effort than replacing them, and far from desirable.

Only 3% of garments produced by Primark in 2023/24 were circular by design. That means the vast majority are destined for waste from the outset. Designing for longevity, repairability, and recyclability must become the norm, not the exception.

Only then will it make sense to host repair shops without feeling like this is just a greenwashing communication operation.

Conclusion?

If Penneys wants to be seen as an environmental leader, the path forward isn’t through charging for paper bags! It will be through rethinking what, why, and how much they produce in a meaningful and holistic way. Until then, gestures like this announcement remain just that: gestures.

‍