The PUMA Environmental Profit and Loss Account (EP&L) attributes more than 50% of our environmental impact to material and raw material production. Against this background, we have decided to prioritize the large-scale use of more sustainable raw materials. In our 10FOR25 strategy, we have set 100% targets for more sustainable raw materials such as cotton, polyester, leather and cardboard.
In addition to measuring the use of more sustainable materials, we also determine the percentage of more sustainable products, that is, products made with a significant proportion of more sustainable materials. As defined in our PUMA Sustainability Index, or S-Index, more sustainable apparel or accessories products contain at least 50% more sustainable materials by weight. For footwear, we currently measure sustainability by including one or more main components* made from more sustainable materials.
During 2021 we developed and rolled out an E-Learning toolkit on more sustainable products and our PUMA S-Index for the PUMA family. The training allows designers, developers and product managers to understand which materials qualify as more sustainable, how the PUMA S-Index is calculated, and which certifications need to be in place to externally communicate on a product level. The training was completed by over 1,300 PUMA colleagues in the last two years.
*Main component in the upper includes visible upper and its components, linings, sockliner and strobel as the only non-visible component. They can be made of textile, leather, synthetic (PU) or TPU. It excludes trims such us eyelets, laces, counters, decorations, etc. Main component in the bottom includes outsoles, midsoles and insoles. They can be made of Rubber, PU, TPU, EVA. It excludes trims and decorations.
| Product Category | Styles 2022 | Volume 2022 | Target 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apparel with at least 50% more sustainable material | 67% | 79% | 90% |
| Accessories with at least 50% more sustainable material | 31% | 46% | 90% |
| Footwear with at least one more sustainable component | 48% | 61% | 90% |
| Total | 58% | 68% | 90% |
| Number of vegan styles | 170 styles |
Throughout 2022 we expanded our range of collections made from more sustainable materials. Highlights include RE:COLLECTION, a line of products from Sportstyle, Run & Train, Accessories and Motorsport, which are made from recycled cotton and recycled polyester. Depending on the style, RE:COLLECTION pieces contain between 20% and 100% recycled cotton and recycled polyester as well as cutting waste used to reinforce the uppers of RE:COLLECTION’s lifestyle footwear. Other highlights include Downtown, a collection where we scale the use of recycled cotton, as well as a continuation of our PUMA x FIRST MILE collection, which includes performance products from Run & Train and high-performance football boots made from recycled polyester.
At PUMA sustainability is central to all business strategies. As we want to make our products more sustainable, we continued the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of our product portfolios in 2022.
The outcomes of an LCA act as a quantifiable measure of our efforts towards embedding sustainability in our products by exploring ways to make our product value chains safer, cleaner and more sustainable. It also encourages innovation in our products and processes to meet increasing social and business expectations regarding sustainability and transparency.
This year we completed a screening LCA study for two of our top products, namely the Liga Jersey Core, an apparel T-Shirt and the Phase Backpack, an accessory product to map the environmental footprint of these products across their entire value chains (cradle to grave) as per ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. This assessment has helped us understand the hotspots in the value chain. It will also help to identify sustainable options in various phases, which can be further explored to improve the product’s environmental footprint.
The products studied are:
Sphera, a leading consulting organization in the field of LCA, has conducted LCA studies to consider all elements of the life cycle, from the overall manufacturing including supply of material and energy carriers to the end of life, when analyzing the environmental performance of the products.
Results of the analysis can be summarized as follows:
For the Liga Jersey Core shirt, the global warming potential (GWP) in kg CO2e has been influenced by raw materials which include polyester fabric, chemicals etc. (33.89%), manufacturing energy (33.35%) and use phase (31.73%).
For the Phase Backpack, the global warming potential (GWP in kg CO2e) has been influenced by materials which include body material, parts and component (52.53%), manufacturing energy (21.73%), and end of life (25.74%). Polyester and polyurethane are major contributing materials.
Backpacks usually don’t require extensive cleaning during their lifetime, and hence the impact of the use phase is negligible. Therefore, the GHG emissions of the use phase from the backpack is not considered. However, in case of apparel products, the use phase contributes to about ~32% GWP impact, owing to energy consumption associated with washing and drying.
The end-of-life phase includes reuse, recycling, incineration and landfilling based on European scenarios, which contributes to GWP impacts of about ~1% for the T-shirt and ~26% for the backpack.
*Primary energy is the energy that is harvested directly from natural resources: coal, oil, natural gas and uranium.
**Blue water is water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources and is either evaporated or incorporated into a product.
For the t-shirt the total global warming potential is 4.66 kg CO2e. The total primary energy demand is 100.25 MJ with major contributions from the polyester fabric (43.37%), fabric manufacturing (11.75%) and use phase (30.98%). The total blue water consumption is 243.15 kg with major contributions from use phase (79.22%), and the remaining contribution from materials (mainly polyester), chemicals, electricity and fuel.
For the backpack the total global warming potential is 2.07 kg CO2e. The total primary energy demand is 40.54 MJ with major contributions from materials, which include body material (50.36%), parts and component (26.68%) and manufacturing energy (18.03%). The total blue water consumption is 13.95 kg with major contributions from polyester (25%), natural rubber (11%) and manufacturing energy (44%).
The supply chain for apparel and backpack products is quite complex and vast, which involves multiple stages such as raw material extraction, processing, finishing, assembly, distribution, use and end of life. The LCA study is used as a lens to understand the value chain environmental impacts of our products.
PUMA now intends to use the outcomes of the study to increase internal awareness and improve the product environmental footprint by increasing the use of more sustainable materials (recycled or biosynthetic), improving resource efficiency, optimizing energy use, promoting renewable energy in the value chain, and enhancing the circularity of our products.
In 2022 PUMA engaged Sphera, Inc. to conduct a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the RE:SUEDE sneaker and the standard SUEDE model as per ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 requirements using the “cradle to grave” approach. The main objective of this study is to quantify the environmental impacts associated with production of the RE:SUEDE and the SUEDE using the LCA approach. A third-party critical review panel was commissioned to peer review the work and ensure compliance with the mentioned standards.
The products studied are:
The scope of this study includes raw material sourcing and extraction, transport of raw materials to the sneaker manufacturing location, manufacturing of the sneaker product, product distribution and end of life (EoL) of product and packaging.
The LCA study indicates that the RE:SUEDE sneaker has a smaller carbon footprint (24.7% lower, excluding biogenic carbon) as compared to the conventional SUEDE sneaker. Although the end-of-life greenhouse gas emissions of RE:SUEDE are lower than conventional SUEDE because of higher biodegradability, they are not as significant as the GHG reduction due to the selection of raw materials, such as zeolite tanned suede leather, hemp fibers, biodegradable TPE and organic cotton.
The LCA Study also indicates that the water consumption per pair of RE:SUEDE is 28% lower as compared to conventional suede. Water consumption is lowered mainly using zeolite tanned suede leather.
Sneaker products usually don’t require extensive cleaning during their lifetime, and hence the impact of the use phase is negligible. Therefore, the GHG emissions of the use phase for both sneakers are not considered.
*Primary energy is the energy that is harvested directly from natural resources: coal, oil, natural gas and uranium.
**Blue water is water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources and is either evaporated or incorporated into a product.
End of life phase includes reuse, recycling, incineration and landfilling based on European scenarios, which contributes to about 0.23% to 0.78% in GWP impacts.
For the conventional SUEDE, the total global warming potential is 11.5 kg CO2e. The total primary energy demand is 196.64 MJ with major contributions from materials (suede 41.25% and synthetic rubber 36.21%), and electricity (20%). The total blue water consumption is 260.98 kg with major contributions from materials (suede 47.56% and cotton 28.63%) and electricity (13%).
For RE:SUEDE the total global warming potential is 8.66 kg CO2e. The total primary energy demand is 169.44 MJ with major contributions from materials (mainly zeolite tanned suede 33.73% and biodegradable TPE 29.16%), electricity (24%) and packaging (10%). The total blue water consumption is 187.96 kg with major contributions from materials (mainly zeolite tanned suede 58.26%, cotton 11.69% and electricity 18%).
PUMA now intends to use the outcomes of the study to communicate to our consumers on the environmental benefits of more sustainable products like RE:SUEDE and the development of variants of RE:SUEDE and similar products in the future. In 2023 we plan to conduct a follow up LCA with new variants of RE:SUEDE.
Mapping and assessing risk and impact practices in the lower tiers of the supply chain helps us identify opportunities for improvement and be better integrated at a strategic level. We sourced around 37,000 tons of cotton in 2022. In order to reach our 100% targets for more sustainable cotton, we have required our suppliers to source only cotton from farms which are licensed or certified as having good farming and human rights standards, or recycled cotton. 99% of the cotton comes from Brazil, Australia, USA, Bangladesh and Ivory Coast.
In parallel, we work on improving the traceability of the leather we use through recording via traceability score of our leather manufacturers certified by the Leather Working Group. We sourced approximately 3,900 tons of bovine leather in 2022.The leather used in PUMA footwear comes from the USA (44%), Argentina (24.4%), China (13.2%) Australia (7.4%), France (4.4%), Uruguay (2.5%), Paraguay (1.9%), Italy (1.5%), Columbia (0.7%) and Brazil (0.3%).
We monitor our LWG (Leather Working Group) medal-rated tanneries' traceability performance. Most suede tanneries work with agents and intermediaries besides direct tanneries to guarantee a stable sourcing supply. Suede is a byproduct of the full grain leather business. This creates a challenge to have full traceability. This explains why our suede leather LWG tanneries have a lower traceability performance than full grain LWG tanneries. We nevertheless aim to increase all our LWG medal-rated tanneries’ traceability performance over time.
“Leather Working Group is encouraged by the progress that PUMA has made to reach their more sustainable materials targets and to achieve the milestone of sourcing all their leather from LWG certified sites. PUMA is an active and valued member of Leather Working Group with their participation in projects focused on developing traceability within the leather supply chain contributing to progress for the industry as a whole.”
VANESSA BRAIN
Senior Traceability Manager, Leather Working Group
*Cotton & polyester including apparel and accessories material (including trims)
As in previous years, a significant percentage of our more sustainable materials can be attributed to more sustainable cotton either from the Better Cotton Initiative or recycled cotton, to more sustainable polyester either bluesign® or OEKO-TEX®-certified or recycled polyester, and more sustainable leather sourced from Leather Working Group (LWG)-certified tanneries. In addition, we only use down feathers certified by the Responsible Down Standard, and 97% of our viscose is made by green shirt rated viscose suppliers with a proven track record on sustainability through the Hot button report from the NGO Canopy. Therefore, more than 79% of our apparel, 46% of accessories and 61% of footwear products are already classified as more sustainable products, in line with the definition in our PUMA Sustainability Index.
Coverage and calculation are more complex for footwear because all our shoes are made from several components. As main materials we use polyester, polyurethane, rubber, leather and nylon. In line with our earlier targets, we have achieved 100% coverage of leather sourced from LWG-certified tanneries.
In 2022, 99.8% of the cotton used came from a more sustainable source as well as 70% of our polyester.
We hardly used wool throughout 2022 (415 kg), thus we have not yet initiated Responsible Wool Standards, but we still aim to reach 100% certified wool in 2025.
| Textilien | Accessoires | Schuhe | Gesamt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton | ||||
| Conventional | 0.02% | 0.2% | 93.7% | 0.21% |
| Recycled | 3.6% | 2.4% | 3.6% | |
| Organic | 0% | 0% | 0.1% | 0.00% |
| Better Cotton | 96.4% | 99.8% | 3% | 96.2% |
| Polyester | ||||
| Conventional | 8.7% | 39.4% | 59.4% | 29.5% |
| Recycled | 55.3% | 26.7% | 40.6% | 47.6% |
| bluesign® | 13.6% | 7.5% | ||
| OEKO-TEX® | 21.4% | 33.9% | 14.8% | |
| Manmade Cellulosics | ||||
| Green Shirt-rated fiber producers** | 72.9% | 72.9% | ||
| Ecovero | 24.3% | 24.3% | ||
| Modal | 1.8% | 1.8% | ||
| Lyocell | 1% | 1% | ||
| Polyamide (nylon) | ||||
| Conventional | 69.1% | 100% | 100% | 86% |
| bluesign® | 29.7% | 13.4% | ||
| Recycled | 1.1% | 0.5% | ||
| Leather | ||||
| LWG medal-rated tannery | 100% | 100% | ||
| Rubber | ||||
| Synthetic | 12.9% | 92.5% | 92.5% | |
| Natural | 87.1% | 5.5% | 5.5% | |
| Recycled | 2% | 2% | ||
| PU | ||||
| Conventional | 100% | 99.6% | 99.6% | |
| Recycled | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||
| Water-based | 0.1% | 0.1% | ||
| Down | ||||
| Certified RDS | 100% | 100% |
| 2022 | 2025 target | |
| Apparel | ||
| More sustainable cotton | 100% | 100% |
| More sustainable polyester | 90.3% | 100% |
| More sustainable viscose | 97.3% | 100% |
| Accessories | ||
| More sustainable cotton | 99.8% | 100% |
| More sustainable polyester | 60.6% | 100% |
| Footwear | ||
| More sustainable cotton | 6% | 100% |
| More sustainable polyester | 41% | 100% |
| More sustainable leather | 100% | 100% |
| More sustainable PU | 0.4% | NA |
| L&P paper/cardboard products** | ||
| Recycled and/or FSC-certified | 99.4% | 100 |
| Number of factories certified | GRS/RCS | GOTS | OCS | RDS | LWG |
| Apparel & accessories T1 & T2 | 107 | 43 | 15 | 3 | NA |
| Footwear T1 & T2 | 38 | NA | NA | ||
| Leather tanneries | 29 Gold 8 Silver 1 Bronze |
GRS: Global Recycling Standard; RCS: Recycled Content Standard; OCS: Organic Content Standard; GOTS: Global Organic Content Standard; RDS: Responsible Down Standard; LWG: Leather Working Group.
