What does Puma's sustainability claim mean that nine out of ten products are made from recycled or certified materials?

Sportswear giant Puma released its sustainability report just in time for Earth Day. The report highlights that the company achieved its 2021 goal of making nine out of ten products from recycled or certified materials that have lower emissions last year. But what does this mean exactly? FashionUnited took a closer look at the report.

The company states that it has “significantly increased” the use of these materials and reportedly used 13 percent recycled cotton (compared to 9 percent the previous year) and approximately 75 percent recycled polyester (compared to 62 percent in 2023) in its products. While these figures initially sound promising, they lack further differentiation, leading one to question whether all products contain a percentage of recycled materials and, if so, how much?

Upon closer examination of the report's circularity section, the company elaborates that, in fact, a quarter (25 percent) of all materials used by Puma were made from recycled content. This means that three-quarters were made from virgin materials.

Trend synthetics

Puma also illustrates the trend of major fashion brands using more synthetic materials despite pledges to the contrary – clearly evident in the fact that the proportion of recycled cotton is less than one-seventh that of recycled polyester. This aligns with virgin material consumption, where, according to a study by the Changing Markets Foundation, the industry is using more fossil fuel-based fabrics, with polyester leading the way.

Looking further into the sustainability report (products section), while the proportion of apparel using recycled or certified materials is 89 percent (58 percent for accessories and 96 percent for footwear, respectively), this only signifies a content of 50 percent or more of these materials. This means a garment or accessory falling into this category may consist of up to 49 percent virgin or non-certified materials. Footwear only needs to contain one certified or recycled component to be included. Therefore, the gray area is relatively large.

Recycled polyester from textiles

A positive aspect of Puma's approach is that, unlike the industry norm of using recycled polyester from plastic bottles (thus sourced from another industry), the company utilises recycled polyester derived from textiles. This is achieved through the textile-to-textile recycling project Re:Fibre, which uses industrial and consumer waste as its primary raw material source. “In 2024, 13.9 percent of the polyester used in Puma textiles was already produced with Re:Fibre,” the company states in its press release.

The sustainability report elaborates on this: “We scaled up our Re:Fibre initiative using textile-to-textile recycled polyester on replica jerseys of all football federations and most major football clubs. This means that we sold millions of football jerseys made from recycled textile waste.”

Is polyester still king?

Critics might argue that it is not yet feasible to forgo polyester in sportswear due to its valued properties (being stretchy, lightweight, quick-drying, etc.). However, this is no longer true. Natural materials like cotton, bamboo, hemp or linen are viable alternatives, as are Tencel, merino wool or plant-based nylon.

There is also the argument that brands should be commended for their willingness to share sustainability data. Certainly, compiling a 200+ page sustainability report, as in Puma's case, is no small feat, and it offers valuable insights. However, these must be viewed critically and compared with key performance indicators, which are unfortunately often missing.

Finally, there is the adage, “brands have to start somewhere,” and “change takes time.” This is true and might have been a valid argument a decade ago. However, sustainability is no longer a “nice to have” but a “must-have” that has also proven its economic value – sustainable companies operate more efficiently and consume fewer raw materials and resources, positively impacting not only the environment but also the bottom line. Major brands, therefore, have a pioneering role to play and should not hide behind targets that are too small.

Further progress in key areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, chemicals, human rights, living wages and others can be found in the full sustainability report, available on Puma’s official website.