PUMA offers supply chain transparency in new video series

Sports company PUMA’s Voices of a RE:GENERATION campaign is ushering in a new era of transparency around supply chains. But will its latest videos encourage others to do likewise?

The company gave two journalists unfiltered access to some of its supplier factories in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkey, unveiling their experience through a video series providing insights into the social and environmental aspects of PUMA’s supply chain. The results have now been released to mark the campaign’s one year anniversary.

Launched in April 2023, PUMA‘s Voices of a RE:GENERATION initiative, provides four Gen-Z ‘Voices’ with access to the brand’s sustainability practices. In doing so, these ‘Voices’ have been helping PUMA to engage and translate sustainability in a meaningful way with the next generation, sharing new perspectives, insights, and suggesting improvements along the way.

In 2023, three of the ‘Voices’ visited some of PUMA’s manufacturing partners to learn about PUMA’s supply chain whilst experiencing the complexities and progressions of sustainability-at-scale. 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 Descours, chief sourcing officer at PUMA, said: “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.”

The video series created by the ‘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.

Through the visits, the ‘Voices’ witnessed the production processes and engaged directly with factory owners and garment workers to gain insights and address industry perceptions. Luke and Jade documented their experiences at PUMA’s tier 1 and 2 apparel and footwear suppliers including DBL Hamza Textiles Ltd, DBL Jinnat Knitwears Ltd, and Urmi Fakhruddin Textiles Ltd in Bangladesh, as well as Dai Loc Shoe Corporation and Alliance One Apparel Co., Ltd in Vietnam.

During the visit they explored sustainability initiatives implemented by PUMA’s manufacturing partners, such as building relationships with unions, fair price shops, childcare facilities, machinery upgrades and more. 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.

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 coined ‘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 PUMAs efforts to scale up circular textile technology through the brand’s RE:FIBRE programme. The films by Luke Jaque-Rodney and Jade Roche will be released on their social platforms and are available on PUMA’s website and YouTube channels.

Andrew’s content is available on his Instagram. Aishwarya Sharma, PUMA’s fourth Voice of a RE:GENERATION, will work on her project in 2024.

Our take

It’s strange, and some might argue suspicious, that more companies haven’t sought to appease critics of their unsustainable or socially questionable practices through practices such as these.

These are two of the most pressing issues plaguing the fashion industry, and PUMA’s transparent attitude will hopefully put the ball in its rival’s court.