Primrose

How ethical is Primrose?

Primrose is an online garden and outdoor living retailer which has fallen below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark on our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table. Primrose’s below-benchmark performance is driven by poor ratings for environmental reporting, peat free status, and packaging.

What does Primrose do?

Primrose was founded in 2003 and is operated by Cercis Ltd, based in Surrey. The company sells a range of over 10,000 garden and outdoor living products online, including water features, planters, garden furniture, garden screening, awnings, greenhouses, and outdoor heating products, delivered directly to consumers across the UK and internationally. Primrose was acquired by Cercis Ltd in December 2022, a company owned by the founders of fellow garden retailer Crocus.

Why does Primrose fall below The GOOD Shopping Guide’s benchmark?

Primrose’s below-benchmark performance is driven by poor ratings across three environmental criteria, with no acceptable ratings across any criterion assessed. The poor rating for environmental report is the most significant. As an online retailer sourcing a broad range of garden and outdoor living products internationally, the absence of a published environmental report means consumers have no transparent account of Primrose’s environmental commitments or the sustainability credentials of its supply chain. Publishing an environmental report would address this gap and provide accountability appropriate to the company’s scale and reach.

Primrose also receives poor ratings for peat free status and packaging. Ensuring that any growing media or compost products available through the platform meet peat-free standards would address the former gap, while strengthening packaging standards across its product range and fulfilment operations would address the latter — both steps that would bring these ratings in line with the stronger performance demonstrated across other criteria.

Primrose does perform well across several criteria, achieving good ratings for fossil fuels, animal welfare, armaments, irresponsible marketing, and political donations, with no documented public record criticisms. These reflect solid ethical conduct across governance criteria. However, the poor ratings for environmental reporting, peat free status, and packaging mean that Primrose falls below the benchmark required by The GOOD Shopping Guide.

Consumers seeking garden suppliers that meet The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark are encouraged to consult our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table and our guide to ethical garden suppliers, and seek out brands that hold The GOOD Shopping Guide’s Ethical Accreditation. Our how we rate page explains the criteria used to assess all brands in this sector.