Sportswear brand PUMA has launched its first “closed loop” range of products making it one of the first major brands to embrace the sustainable production practice.
Closed loop products are designed and manufactured with their reuse and disposal built in from the start.
PUMA’s InCycle range includes compostable t-shirts, a backpack that can be dismantled to create new backpacks and a jacket made from recycled plastic bottles that can itself be turned back into the raw material for polyester and reused.
PUMA’s biodegradable shoes after 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months of degrading. (Source: PUMA)
The so-called cradle to cradle process saves energy and raw materials. Having PUMA, who supply kit to Usain Bolt and the Italian national football team, on board with the process could prove a massive boon for its advocates.
“PUMA’s InCycle products are designed from the start to have a positive environmental footprint as they biodegrade safely to soil and are returned to industry as a valuable resource,” said Bridgett Luther, president of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, which certified the new range.
The company has launched its own in store recycling programme with “Bring Me Back” boxes in in its stores.
PUMA’s former chairman Jochen Zeitz now leads the company’s sustainable development committee and has been instrumental in the company’s recent efforts on sustainability.
The company has initiated a stringent environmental accounting regime that show the impact of its products in euros and cents to make a compelling comparison of the sustainability of its products.
Early testing showed InCycle shoes creating an environmental profit of 3% of the retail price compared to their more traditional equivalents.
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