Sustain­able Materials

LEATHER

Leather Working Group

By 2020, 90% of our leather holds a medal rating by the Leather Working Group. Leather used for our products must derive from tanneries approved by this group. They seek to improve the leather manufacturing industry by aligning environmental priorities, bringing visibility to best practices and providing guidelines for continual improvement. What’s being done already is that 100% of the leather we use in Asia is made by Leather Working Group medal-rated tanneries. As for footwear, we have scored higher than targeted in our annual LWG medal-rated leather goals in the last three years.

Cotton

Better Cotton Initiative

PUMA partners with The Better Cotton Initiative/BCI to improve cotton farming globally. We are committed to sourcing 90% of our cotton as ‘more sustainable cotton’ by 2020. This includes Better Cotton, organic cotton and recycled cotton. More than 2 million farmers across 21 countries are working hard to produce a growing supply of Better Cotton by minimizing the harmful impact of crop protection practices, using water efficiently, caring for the availability of water and the health of soil, conserving natural habitats and preserving the quality of fiber. Better Cotton is not physically traceable to end products. However, BCI Farmers benefit from the demand for Better Cotton in equivalent volumes to those we ‘source’.

Polyester

bluesign®

How relevant is it to check finished products? Do these tests indicate if problematic substances were used in an early stage of the process or if certain processes and production facilities are environmentally inefficient? The answer was PUMA’s decision to have 90% of the polyester used in our products certified by bluesign® by 2020. The bluesign® system eliminates harmful substances right from the beginning of the manufacturing process by considering production processes as a whole. To prevent unsustainable substances from entering the production cycle at all and to be eliminated, bluesign® sets and controls standards for an environmentally friendly and safe production. This not only ensures that the final textile product meets very stringent consumer safety requirements worldwide, but also provides confidence to the consumer to acquire a sustainable product.

Packaging

Forest Stewardship Council

To become a sustainable company, PUMA aims to have 90% of its packaging made of paper certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and / or recycled paper and cardboard by 2020. FSC sets standards for a responsibly managed forest – environmentally and socially. FSC forest management certification confirms a forest is being managed in a way that preserves the natural ecosystem and benefits the lives of local people and workers, all while ensuring it sustains economically viability.

Down Feathers

Responsible Down Standards

Always aiming higher, we added a new global volume target for Responsible Down Standard-certified down feathers in 2018. By 2020, PUMA aims to have 90% of their prodcuts using down feathers made with RDS-certified down. 

The RDS ensures that the down in a product does not come from birds that have been live-plucked or force-fed and that their welfare has been protected during their whole lifetime. By inspecting each part of the supply chain, from farms and collectors to slaughterhouses, down processors, sewing factories and distribution centers on an annual basis, independent certification bodies make sure that the birds were reared according to RDS standards.