The sporting goods provider Puma published its sustainability report on time for the Earth Day. This emphasizes that last year he achieved his goal set in 2021 to produce nine out of ten products from recycled or certified materials that emit less greenhouse gases. But what does this mean specifically? Fashionunited took a closer look into the report.
The company states that the use of these materials “significantly increases” and according to information used in 2024 13 percent recycled cotton (compared to 9 percent in the previous year) and about 75 percent recycled polyester (compared to 62 percent in 2023) in its products. These numbers sound good at first, but are not differentiated, so that one wonders whether this means that all products have a share of recycled materials and how large this proportion is?
On closer inspection, the company elaborates in the report (section circularity) that a quarter (25 percent) of all materials used in Puma were actually made from recycled content. This means that three quarters were made from non-recycled, i.e. new materials.
Tendency synthetics
Puma also illustrates the trend that large fashion brands promise despite more synthetic substances – you can clearly see it from the fact that the proportion of recycled cotton is less than a seventh in the proportion of the recycled polyester. This also coincides with the consumption of new materials, in which the industry uses more fabrics based on fossil fuels, according to an examination of the Changing Markets Foundation, polyester being the leader.
If you continue to look at the sustainability report (range), you can see that the proportion of clothing with recycled or certified materials is 89 percent (or 58 percent for accessories and 96 percent for shoes) that this means a share of 50 percent or more of these materials. This means that a piece of clothing or accessory that falls into this category can consist of 49 percent of non-recycled or non-certified materials, such as new materials. Shoes only have to have a certified or recycled component to be added. So the gray area is relatively large.
Recyceler polyester from textiles
What should be noted in Puma’s case is that the company for recycled polyester does not use those from plastic bottles (i.e. adhered to another industry) as usual in the industry, but on textiles. The company achieves this through the textile-to-textile recycling project Re: Fibre, which uses industrial and consumption waste as a source of the main guidelines. “In 2024, 13.9 percent of the polyester used in Puma textiles have already been produced with R: Fibre,” said the company in the press release.
In the sustainability report, it elaborates: “We have expanded our re: fibre initiative and use recycled textile-to-textile polyester for the replica jerseys of all football associations and most major football clubs. This means that we have sold millions of football jerseys from recycled textile waste.”
Beautiful polyester?
Critical voices could now note that it was not yet possible in the sports clothing area to do without it due to the estimated properties of polyester (stretching, lightness, lightness, quick -drying, etc.). But this is no longer true. Natural materials such as cotton, bamboo, hemp or linen are good alternatives, as well as Tencel, merino wool or nylon made of plant fibers.
It is also heard that brands should be praised for their willingness to share sustainability data. It is certainly not easy – as in Puma’s case – to create a sustainability report above 200 -page, and this offers valuable insights. However, these must be viewed in a differentiated manner and compared with key data, but unfortunately they are often missing.
Last but not least, it says “Brands have to start somewhere” and “Changes need time”. This was right and could have been an argument a decade ago. In the meantime, sustainability is not a “Nice to have”, but a “must have” that has also proven its entrepreneurial value – sustainable companies run more efficiently and consume fewer raw materials and resources, which not only has a positive effect on the environment, but also on the balance sheet. Large brands therefore have a pioneering function and should not hide behind too small destinations.
Further progress in core areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, chemicals, human rights goals, existential wages and others can be viewed in the complete sustainability report that is available on the official website.