PUMA Gives Transparent View of Supply Chain

Sports company PUMA gave its Voices of a RE:GENERATION and two journalists access to some of its supplier factories in Bangladesh, Vietnam and Turkey as part of a video series, giving viewers an insight into the social and environmental aspects of PUMA’s supply chain.

The ‘Voices’ were accompanied by Anne-Laure Descours, Chief Sourcing Officer at PUMA, Veronique Rochet, Senior Director Sustainability at PUMA and two journalists with extensive field experience, providing the ‘Voices’ with a historical perspective on the garment industry.

Given a voice 

Launched in April 2023, PUMA’s Voices of a RE:GENERATION initiative gave four Gen-Z ‘Voices’ access to the brand’s sustainability efforts.

These 'Voices' helped PUMA in its efforts to engage and translate sustainability in a meaningful way for the next generation, hoping to share new perspectives, insights and suggest improvements in collaboration.

In 2023, three Voices visited some of PUMA’s manufacturing partners to learn about PUMA’s supply chain while experiencing the complexities and progressions of sustainability at scale.

As an effort to improve education and transparency around the topic, PUMA gave each Voice the opportunity to capture and share unfiltered footage of their experiences. 

Anne-Laure, says: “PUMA has a long history of reporting on our sustainability performance, but it is more important than ever to engage younger generations in sustainability decisions.

"We hope that by inviting our Voices to experience our supply chain we’re able to share the genuine progress and passion that our suppliers have invested as well as the realities and challenges we face in our efforts to improve.”

Shedding light on the value chain

The video series created by Voices Luke Jaque-Rodney, Jade Roche and Andrew Burgess captures some of the social and environmental aspects of the garment industry, shedding light on themes such as working conditions, fair wages, textile waste and resource efficiency.

During the visits, these three people witnessed the production processes and engaged directly with factory owners and garment workers to gain insights and address industry perceptions.

They also offered feedback to PUMA, suggesting ways to improve. Luke and Jade documented their experiences at PUMA’s tier 1 and 2 apparel and footwear suppliers, including DBL Hamza Textiles, DBL Jinnat Knitwears and Urmi Fakhruddin Textiles in Bangladesh, as well as Dai Loc Shoe Corporation and Alliance One Apparel in Vietnam.

As they spent time here, they explored sustainability efforts that PUMA’s manufacturing partners are implementing, such as building relationships with unions, fair price shops, childcare facilities, machinery upgrades and more.

• Luke’s film, ‘Stitch and Spice’, provides a picture of working conditions within the garment industry through interviews with workers in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
• Jade’s films, ‘MADE IN BANGLADESH’ and ‘MADE IN VIETNAM’, provide views of production in these regions, aiming to reshape existing perceptions through visual storytelling.
• Filmed at factories SLN Textile, ISKO and Fersan Tekstil in Turkey, Andrew, who was joined by Stefan Seidel, Senior Director Corporate Sustainability at PUMA, created videos sharing PUMA’s efforts to scale up circular textile technology through the brand’s RE:GENERATION programme.

The films are available on PUMA’s website and YouTube channels. Aishwarya Sharma, PUMA’s fourth Voice of a RE:GENERATION, will work on her project in 2024.

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