November 27, 2024,Herzogenaurach, Germany : Sports company PUMA has received the highest recognition for its materials strategy in the Material Change Index compiled by global non-profit organization Textile Exchange.
Out of hundreds of companies examined, PUMA was amongst 11 in 2024 to be ranked in the fourth and highest “Leading” tier. Companies with this distinction showed an integrated materials strategy aligned with global goals, disclosed climate goals and targets and made progress towards a circular use of materials, Textile Exchange said. This year’s result is one step up from PUMA’s inclusion in the second-highest “Scaling” tier in 2023.
“We know how important our choice of product materials is, when we want to reduce our carbon footprint and lessen our environmental impact,” said Anne Laure Descours, PUMA’s Chief Sourcing Officer. “We are very happy to be ranked as ‘Leading’ in this years’ index and we will take it as an opportunity to further strengthen our materials strategy.”
PUMA has a 2025 target of making 9 out of 10 products with materials that are classified as preferred fibres by Textile Exchange or which originate from certified sources. In 2023, this was already the case for 8 out of 10 products. In 2023, 99.7% of all leather was sourced from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries and 99.2% of all cotton was certified or recycled as was 99.4% of all paper and cardboard packaging.
Almost 65% of the polyester used for PUMA’s apparel and accessories in 2023 came from recycled materials and the company also started to scale up the use of recycled cotton. In 2024 PUMA announced that millions of football jerseys had been made with textile waste through its RE:FIBRE recycling initiative.
The Material Change Index is the largest peer-to-peer comparison initiative in the industry and aims to help track the sector’s progress in fibre and materials sourcing, strategy and the circular transition. The aim of the organization is to help the fashion industry achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gases from raw material production by 2030.
