We are committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting creativity, sustainability and peace and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken.
The foundation for our activities is PUMAVision – a concept that we intend to guide our work with its three core programs PUMA.Creative, PUMA.Safe and PUMA.Peace.
PUMA.Safe comprises our initiatives and commitment for environmental protection and improved working conditions that have been in place for many years now. They will be complemented by new programs, which focus on implementing cleaner, safer and more sustainable systems and processes within the supply chain.
PUMA.Peace supports the global Day of Ceasefire on September 21 every year through its initiative “One Day One Goal”, which aims at getting people to play football with the idea that the power of sports will unite people in peace.
The initiatives of PUMA.Creative – creativity as the core competence of the brand - aim at bringing together artists and different organizations for a mutual creative exchange and offering them an international platform.
Greenpeace Detox Campaign
On 24 April 2012 - adidas Group, C&A, G-Star, H&M, Li Ning, NIKE, Inc. and Puma released their first update on the progress in implementing the joint roadmap towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals (ZDHC) in the supply chain by 2020. As part of the groups commitment to transparency, this is the first in a regular series of progress updates as the signatories to the joint roadmap move to set a new standard of environmental performance for the global apparel and footwear industry. You can view the update at www.roadmaptozero.com.
Joint response to Greenpeace letter related to upcoming detox publication
March 19th, 2012
On March 15th 2012, Greenpeace wrote to brands and notified them that another Detox publication will be launched soon. While the letter does not indicate further details about the content of the report, Greenpeace has requested brands to commit and announce a full elimination schedule and implementation of a full ban of APEs (alkylphenol ethoxylates). On March 16 the following response was sent to Greenpeace.
‘In November of 2011, acting with a deep sense of commitment and urgency, the undersigned brands established the Joint Roadmap toward ‘zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020’. We all recognize that industry collaboration at all levels is needed for us to achieve our challenging goal. To help build the critical mass needed to affect change in our industry, the signatory brands have accepted G-Star into the Joint Roadmap Collaboration. We are also actively recruiting other brands, consultants, NGOs, advisors, and industry players to participate with and guide us on this journey. At this point in time and to build further leverage in the industry it is crucial to enlarge the group of brands and for this purpose the Joint Roadmap sets a clear framework for commitments.
With regard to your inquiry about APEOs, we wish to inform you that all brands have already or will very shortly communicate to our respective suppliers the need to source APEO free chemical preparations.
In April 2012, we will be posting our first Joint Roadmap status update. In this update, we will describe the progress we have made and the state of the collaborative projects.
We hope that you will continue to support the engagement with other brands at the same level playing field with the purpose of achieving critical mass for this endeavor.
Kind regards,
adidas Group, C&A, G-Star, H&M, Li-Ning, Nike, and Puma
adidas Group, C&A, H&M, Li Ning, Nike and Puma Partner to Reach Zero Discharge by 2020
adidas Group, C&A, H&M, Li Ning, NIKE, Inc. and Puma today announced the release of a joint roadmap (see PDF below) towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals (ZDHC) in the supply chain by 2020. It is an ambitious plan, one that sets a new standard of environmental performance for the global apparel and footwear industry. The roadmap includes specific commitments and timelines to realize this shared goal. These commitments include:
• Jointly communicating the mission of zero discharge of hazardous chemicals to all suppliers beginning immediately
• Conducting pilot projects at major, vertically integrated and materials suppliers between 2011 and 2013 to better understand scope of use and discharge of hazardous chemicals
• Verifying that nine classes of hazardous or persistent chemicals are not currently used
• Initiating an inventory of all chemicals used in apparel manufacturing by the end of 2012
• Disclosing the results of all pilots and studies undertaken as part of this commitment
• Reporting regularly and publicly on our progress against this commitment (quarterly in 2012, annually from 2013 to 2020)
The joint roadmap is a living document: it will continue to be refined as we gain additional intelligence and insights through our initial pilots and research, as well as our collaboration with other brands and stakeholders. We commit to reviewing and updating the roadmap at least annually and making the results public.
In releasing the roadmap, we have asked SustainAbility to solicit feedback from a key group of stakeholders over the next six weeks. In addition, we are also accepting comments from the public through December 31, 2011. All comments can be directed to ztdi@sustainability.com. Based on the feedback, we will consider refining the roadmap in 2012.
Tackling and achieving the goal of zero discharge is a complex challenge – one that our brand collaboration cannot solve alone. Our vision is that the roadmap serves as a benchmark and that many more brands join us in our efforts. Ultimately, we want and need a broad array of participants to partner with us in this endeavor – chemical suppliers, academics, NGOs, textile experts, entrepreneurs, policy makers and others. We understand that we are setting out to change the way apparel and footwear is manufactured, globally, and are thus casting our net wide for the best ideas and solutions.
We have achieved our first milestone. On September 26 to 28, 2011 we met with over 30 brands, chemical companies and other experts in a workshop which forged this roadmap. Such engagements will continue as we develop and deliver against an industry standard for zero discharge of hazardous chemicals in the supply chain.
In publishing this roadmap, adidas Group, C&A, H&M, Nike, Li Ning and Puma call on others in the global apparel and footwear industry to join us in this vital undertaking, which has one aim: to safeguard the environment for future generations.
For media enquiries please contact:
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adidas Group |
C&A |
H&M |
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LiNing |
NIKE, Inc. |
Puma |
With the publication of the joint roadmap, the brands announced a period of stakeholder consultation to gather feedback that they believe will result in a stronger roadmap and help the industry realize this ambitious goal. The brands asked SustainAbility Inc. to conduct this consultation on their behalf. The findings of this consultation of 30 individuals representing a variety of stakeholder groups are released here and right beneath this text as a PDF. The findings are not an exhaustive list of every point of feedback raised, nor do they represent consensus. Rather, the document reflects SustainAbility’s perspective on the topics that most frequently and prominently came up in phone conversations and email feedback.
PUMA California Transparency in the Supply Chain Act Disclosure Statement
In September 2010, the government of California approved a new law, which will require retailers and manufacturers operating in the state to make public the steps they have undertaken to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply and distribution chain. PUMA acknowledges the levels and types of risks related to each country where PUMA’s materials and goods are sourced and produced. In line with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB 657), PUMA recognizes the pervasiveness of practices that could be construed as slavery and human trafficking and is committed to addressing the issues within PUMA’s supply chain using best practice approaches where possible.
PUMA.Safe is the supplier social and environmental compliance program established over 10 years ago to ensure compliance to PUMA’s Code of Conduct. Our Code of Conduct covers issues such as maximum working hours, basic wage, respect, equality and restriction of forced labour, amongst others. The factory compliance monitoring system is the core operational activity of PUMA.Safe, along with capacity building projects, regular consultation and outreach with stakeholders and factories to improve compliance, particularly in our major production markets.
At present, the PUMA.Safe audit process is the primary mechanism to ensure that PUMA’s social, health, safety and environmental standards are observed at our direct contract factories as well as the contract factories of PUMA’s subsidiaries and licensees, as well as in a proportion of known subcontractors. All official PUMA.Safe audits are announced, unless there is information or justification provided in advance that warrants an unannounced visit to a factory. During the audit, workers are interviewed and amongst other topics they are asked how they obtained their job, if they had to pay any fees, if general wages & deductions against wages are fair and if they were given back their identification documents. Migrant workers’ working permits, whether foreign or domestic, are also reviewed. If there are employee accommodations in the factory these are also checked and the working hours records are thoroughly reviewed. All of these actions aim to verify that there is no human trafficking and slave labor.
Furthermore, within our manufacturing agreements, every factory which manufactures PUMA products is obligated to be audited by PUMA or a designated third party for compliance with all PUMA standards and the relevant national and local laws – including those related to anti-slavery and human trafficking. Where such laws do not yet exist or are milder compared to international standards, PUMA strives to engage with all relevant stakeholders to come up with policies and actions to address the issue. Within these agreements contract factories are required to disclose subcontractors as defined by PUMA and failure or negligence to provide such information would be grounds for a variety of commercial penalties. PUMA conducts regular annual mapping exercises to validate subcontractor information provided by contract factories, and these are supplemented with engagements with stakeholders.
PUMA’s contract factories are also subjected to independent external monitoring by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), which at present are all unannounced visits. The FLA is a is a collaborative effort of socially responsible companies, colleges and universities, and civil society organizations to improve working conditions in factories around the world. The FLA has developed a Workplace Code of Conduct, based on International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, and created a practical monitoring, remediation and verification process to achieve those standards. The FLA is a brand accountability system that places the onus on companies to voluntarily achieve the FLA’s labour standards in the factories manufacturing their products. The main component of both the PUMA.Safe and FLA audits is the remediation of the areas of failure. To achieve sustainable compliance, our factories are obliged to address not only the immediate areas of failure but the root causes of the failures. Where such root causes go beyond the factory walls PUMA encourages suppliers to engage with stakeholders that can help address these root causes on their own or in partnership.
PUMA also supports Better Work Programmes active in its major production markets. Better Work, a partnership between the International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation, brings together governments, employers, workers and international buyers to improve compliance with labour standards. The Better Work programme is active in the following countries: Cambodia (as “Better Factories Cambodia), Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Lesotho, Nicaragua and Vietnam. Better Work provides assessment, advisory and training services to registered suppliers, whose participating buyers have access to assessment reports and improvement updates. Assessments measure compliance with national labour law and core international labour standards, including those relating to forced labour. In assessing forced labour, Better Work looks at employer practices relating to recruitment (including the use of employment agencies), document retention, freedom of movement, payment of wages, forced overtime, threats or intimidation, termination, and prison labour, among others. When necessary, Better Work staff work with suppliers to address practices that may contribute to conditions of forced labour. In addition, each country programme produces public compliance synthesis reports, which report aggregate non-compliance data—including data on forced labour—from participating factories.
In the event that a case of human trafficking or slavery would be detected in PUMA’s supply chain, the PUMA.Safe team together with the factory management would seek to eradicate the practice and launch a fair remediation for the affected parties. Through its affiliation with PPR Home, PUMA is strengthening its own internal awareness of social issues such as human trafficking and slavery and the impact of our business operations on society, particularly those operations that may seem removed from the supply chain.
Stakeholder engagement and partnership building at the local, regional and global levels in order to identify and act on solutions to a variety of risks and issues in the supply chain is an integral component of the PUMA.Safe program. PUMA strives to engage and work with local actors in areas with known risk of human trafficking and slavery to support initiatives that would mitigate and correct impacts in a systemic fashion. PUMA also works with its peers locally, regionally and globally through initiatives like the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to ensure environmental sustainability initiatives are aligned with mitigation of social risks.
In accordance to the new law SB 657, PUMA is dedicated to expand its standards and take measures to cover the necessary scope and beyond in efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in our immediate supply chain and eventually beyond. This includes strengthening and making more explicit PUMA’s workplace standards and policies for contract factories in accordance with best practices and more stringent international standards.
The new law, SB 657, will go into effect on January 1st, 2012.
revised original statement, 28 December 2011
For more information on our sustainability program and initiatives, please visit the PUMAVision website on http://vision.puma.com
PUMA‘s Environmental Profit & Loss Account
Sustainability Reports
PUMA's Standards
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