PUMA – the InCycle Collection

Not to be left behind, Puma are also making strides in the fashion and sustainability arena. Their recent Incycle collection was the culmination of work started off by their former CEO, Jochen Zeitz. He introduced the Environmental Profit and Loss statement to Puma and aims to run it across the rest of the Kering Group (formerly known as PPR). Understanding the environmental impact of companies has always been hard to quantify in monetary terms, but money is what most people resonate with. How would you otherwise quantify the benefits brought to you by species diversity or not building on a flood plain?

Kering - Empowering Imagination

I had the chance to speak (well…be interviewed by) Jochen Zeitz once upon a time and my main question what was would happen with all this information? The answer is the Incycle Collection – the industry’s first collection of recyclable and biodegradable footwear, apparel, and accessories. The products are also certified Cradle to Cradle (C2C).

Incycle Backpack

These principles were developed by William McDonough and Michael Braungart – you can read about it in more depth if you get a copy of their book. Or simply watch their TED Talk.

This is obviously just the start of the process and there are complexities and limits to how much products can be recycled but it’s an interesting start and it will be intriguing to see how Puma markets these products in the future. Not to be left behind, some of the other brands in the Kering stable have also dabbled in sustainable production. Stella McCartney already has a no leather policy. She also released biodegradable shoes in 2010, made from a bioplastic called APINAT. Gucci, on the other hand, have continued working with leather but have worked to make some of their handbags traceable down the supply chain, a project conducted alongside Livia Firth and her Eco Age consultancy. The ability to trace the source of leather means that producers can state for certain whether their products are linked to the deforestation of the Amazon Rain-forest.

I am rather curious to see what the rest of the Kering family can come up with.

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