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Puma Australia

OVERALL

Owned
GER
Rating
Praises, some criticism

Sport and leisure products

Company Ownership

Puma Australia Pty Ltd   AUS     website   email      
  Puma AG   
   owns 100% of Puma Australia Pty Ltd  
GER     website   email   facebook   twitter

Sportswear

Formed when German brothers Rudi and Adi Dassler feuded and split their family firm into adidas and PUMA. Today it is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world. Majority owned by luxury goods giant Kering from 2007 until 2018, when Kering spun off Puma to its own shareholders to focus on its luxury business.

      Kering SA   
       owns 15% of Puma AG  
FRA     website   email   facebook   twitter

Luxury goods

World's #3 luxury group, behind LVMH and Richemont. Changed it's name to Kering (formerly PPR) in 2013, as it disposed of retail assets to focus on luxury products and sporting goods. Announced plans to sell off Puma and Volcom in 2018 to focus on luxury goods.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Puma Australia Pty Ltd
Environment Australian Packaging Covenant signatory
Signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement to encourage waste minimisation.
Source: Australian Packaging Covenant (2020)
Social ethical clothing australia accreditation
Accredited and licensed to display the 'Ethical Clothing Australia' Trade Mark on their Australian-made garments, which ensures Australian workers receive fair wages and decent conditions. However this only applies to their Australian made goods which account for less than 1% of their overall product.
Source: Ethical Clothing Australia (2020)
Puma AG
Business Ethics 57/100 in Fashion Transparency Index
The 2020 Fashion Transparency Index reviewed 250 of the world's largest fashion brands and retailers and ranked them according to how much they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts. Brands owned by this company scored 57%, signifying that it is publishing detailed supplier lists and the vast majority of policies, procedures and future goals. The average score was 23% and the highest score was 73%.
Source: Fashion Revolution (2020)
Environment CDP Climate Change Score of B
In 2020, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of B.
Source: CDP (2020)
Environment Supply chain practices in China
This company received a score of 63.6/100 (retrieved 10-Oct-2020) in the Corporate Information Transparency Index (CITI), a system for evaluating supply chain practices in China, particularly in regards to environmental management and water pollution. Scores are calculated using government compliance data, online monitoring data, and third-party environmental audits, as well as trends in the environmental performance of factories in the company's supply chains.
Source: IPE (2020)
Social Bangladesh Safety Accord signatory
This company has signed the 'Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh', a program endorsed by Bangladeshi and international unions and labor rights organizations. The ground-breaking program includes independent safety inspections with public reports, mandatory factory building renovations, the obligation by brands and retailers to underwrite the cost of repairs, and a vital role for workers and their unions – all in a legally-binding, enforceable agreement.
Source: Bangladesh Accord (2019)
Social B grade in 2019 Ethical Fashion Report
B grade in the Baptist World Aid Australia's 'Ethical Fashion Report 2019', which grades companies, from A to F, on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policies, transparency and traceability, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental management.
Source: Baptist World Aid Australia (2019)
Social 61/100 in KnowTheChain Benchmark
In 2018 KnowTheChain benchmarked 120 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 61/100.
Source: KnowTheChain (2018)
Social Human Rights Benchmark
The 2019 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 200 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world from the Agricultural Products, Apparel, Extractives and ICT Manufacturing sectors on 100 human rights indicators. This company's score was in the 40-50 band range. The overall average score was a disappointing 24%.
Source: CHRB (2019)
Social COVID Fashion Commitments
In 2020 Baptist World Aid Australia released The COVID Fashion Report, a special edition of their Ethical Fashion Report. The report is framed around six COVID Fashion Commitments that ask companies to demonstrate the steps and measures they are taking to protect and support the most vulnerable workers in their supply chains. This company showed evidence of actions that cover ALL areas of the COVID Fashion Commitments.
Source: Baptist World Aid Australia (2020)
Business Ethics 62/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 62/100 in the Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2019)
Social Efforts to pay a living wage
The Clean Clothes Campaign report, Tailored Wages 2019 analyses responses from 32 top clothing brands about their progress in implementing a living wage for the workers who produce their clothes. This company received the lowest possible grade in the report, meaning they produced no evidence that any worker making their clothes was paid a living wage anywhere in the world.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2019)
Social Workers rights in Cambodia
While conditions for garment workers in Cambodia have improved since 2014, rights violations are still rampant in the garment industry and the country as a whole. Despite this Nike, Puma, Adidas, H&M, Gap, and other international brands continue to rely on Cambodia for the manufacture of a significant portion of their products.
Source: news article (2018)
Social Forced labour in China
The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including brands owned by this company. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's 2020 report estimates (somewhat conservatively) that more than 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories across China between 2017 and 2019, and some of them were sent directly from detention camps.
Source: ASPI (2020)
Social Poor work conditions
In 2008 a follow up investigation on Taiway Sports Inc. (a PUMA supplier in China) was performed and discovered much of the poor conditions that were identified three years ago still exist at Taiway. (Listed under information due to age of report)
Source: China Labour Watch (2008)
Social Sweatshops in El Salvadore
This 2011 investigative report into the Ocean Sky Apparel Factory in El Salvador reveals how workers are: paid well below living wage, illegally forced to work overtime, given unsafe drinking water, fired for attempting to unionise, and cursed at and humiliated. Their customers include Reebok, Puma, Columbia and GAP. (Listed under information due to age of report)
Source: Institute for Global Labour & Human Rights (2011)
Social Workers rights in China
This 2014 report by the Workers Rights Consortium investigates workers' rights violations at Yue Yuen, the manufacturing arm of the largest producer of branded athletic shoes in the world, and supplier to many major footwear brands, including brands owned by this company. Violations include illegal underpayment, unpaid overtime, restricting freedom to organise, and failure to provide valid employment contracts. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: Workers Rights Consortium (2014)
Social Sweatshops in Bangladesh
This 2012 report by War on Want presents a detailed picture of the conditions faced by workers in Bangladesh, mostly women, who produce the sportswear sold by leading brands Adidas, Nike and Puma. Abuses include paying workers below the legal minimum wage in Bangladesh, excessive hours, sexual harassment and beatings. On average workers were paid just 16p an hour, with two thirds of the workers working over 60 hours a week, in clear breach of Bangladeshi law. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: War on Want (2012)
Social Sweatshops in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines
This 2011 report by the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) examined working conditions in 83 factories in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Investigations found that widespread violations and abuses of workers' rights continue to be the norm, such as underpaying workers, long hours, forced overtime, and repression of the freedom of association. This company's brands were found to be made in one or more of the 83 factories covered in the research. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: ITGLWF (2011)
Environment Detox commitment
Greenpeace launched its "Detox My Fashion" campaign in 2011 to expose the direct links between global clothing brands, their suppliers and toxic water pollution around the world. As a result, many companies, including this one, committed to Greenpeace's Detox Program. The 2016 Detox Catwalk report focused on implementation, assessing the steps taken by fashion brands to fulfil their commitments using three criteria: Detox 2020 plan, PFC elimination and Transparency. This company is "committed to Detox and has made progress implementing its plans, but its actions need to evolve faster to achieve the 2020 Detox goal".
Source: Greenpeace (2016)
Environment Guardian Sustainable Business Award winner
Puma was the overall winner of the 2012 Guardian Sustainable Business Awards for its pioneering Environmental Profit & Loss Account, which attempts to put a cost on the impact a business has on the environment, across its entire supply chain.
Source: Guardian (2012)
Environment Zero discharge of hazardous chemicals
In 2011, a group of major apparel and footwear brands and retailers, including this company, made a shared commitment to help lead the industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020. It includes specific commitments and timelines to realize this shared goal.
Source: ZDHC (2019)
Environment bluesign member
The bluesign® Standard sets "best practices" for the use of chemicals and resources – including water and energy – in the textile industry. Textile manufacturers who are bluesign system partners agree to establish management systems to improve environmental performance in five key areas of the production process: resource productivity, consumer safety, water emissions, air emissions, and occupational health and safety. They regularly report their progress, are subject to on-site audits, and must meet improvement goals to maintain their status.
Source: bluesign (2016)
Environment Trust Mark approved brands
This company owns brands which have been awarded Positive Luxury's Trust Mark. To be accredited brands are assessed in the following areas: philanthropy, environmental, social, innovation, community and governance.
Source: Positive Luxury (2015)
Environment Climate action commitments
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; responsible corporate engagement in climate policy; report climate change information in mainstream reports as a fiduciary duty;
Source: We Mean Business (2017)
Social FLA Accredited
When joining the Fair Labor Association (FLA) this company committed to promoting and complying with international labor standards throughout their supply chain. The FLA does not accredit the company itself; rather, they accredit the company's labor compliance program. Being granted accreditation implies that their workplace standards program is substantially in compliance with the FLA Code.
Source: Fair Labor Association (2016)
Animals Angora ban
This company has taken angora items off the shelves and promised not to use angora again, following a PETA campaign launched in Dec 2013 which revealed the cruelty inflicted on angora rabbits in Chinese factory farms, where 90% of the world's angora is produced.
Source: PETA (2018)
Business Ethics I:Collect partner
This company is a partner of I:Collect (aka I:CO), a global collection network to keep discarded clothing and shoes out of landfills. Customers deposit used textiles into recycling dropoff boxes at this company's stores, and I:CO arranges their environmentally-friendly removal, sorting and reuse.
Source: I:Collect (2014)
Business Ethics Sustainability strategy
Deloitte developed a Zero Impact Growth Monitor that was used in 2012 to assess and rank 65 different companies' attempts to become more sustainable. Six companies reached the "Ecosystem" level: Puma, Nike, Nestle, Natura, Unilever and Ricoh. These pioneering companies have not only set measurable and ambitious mid- to long-term targets (beyond 2020), but have also embedded their sub-policies in a holistic strategic vision of their attempt to minimize their negative environmental and societal impacts.
Source: Deloitte (2012)
Business Ethics Sustainable Apparel Coalition member
This company is a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in March 2011 by a group of global apparel and footwear companies and non-profit organizations (representing nearly one third of the global market share for apparel and footwear). The Coalition's goals are to reduce the apparel industry's environmental and social impact, and to develop a universal index to measure environmental and social performance of apparel products.
Source: Sustainable Apparel Coalition (2020)
Business Ethics Better Cotton Initiative member
This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary program which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.
Source: Better Cotton Initiative (2019)
Business Ethics Transparency Pledge
The Apparel and Footwear Supply Chain Transparency Pledge (Transparency Pledge) helps demonstrate apparel and footwear companies' commitment towards greater transparency in their manufacturing supply chain. Transparency of a company's manufacturing supply chain better enables a company to collaborate with civil society in identifying, assessing, and avoiding actual or potential adverse human rights impacts. This is a critical step that strengthens a company's human rights due diligence. This company has published some supplier factory information, but falls short of the Pledge standard.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2019)
Business Ethics Textile Exchange member
This company is a member of the Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that works closely with its members to drive textile industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. They identify and share best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry's impact on the world's water, soil and air, and the human population.
Source: Textile Exchange (2019)
Business Ethics Better Work Partner
This company is a partner of Better Work, an initiative of the UN's International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation which brings diverse groups together - governments, global brands, factory owners, and unions and workers - to improve working conditions in the garment industry and make the sector more competitive.
Source: Better Work (2020)
Business Ethics Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action signatory
This company is a signatory to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, a United Nations initiative which contains the vision to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Source: UNFCCC (2020)
Environment CDP Forests Score of C
In 2020, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts towards removing commodity-driven deforestation and forest degradation from its direct operations and supply chains. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Forests Score of C.
Source: CDP (2020)
Social Modern Slavery statement
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: Modern Slavery Registry (2016)
Social CDP Water Security Score of C
In 2020, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources. Responding companies are scored on six key metrics: transparency; governance & strategy; measuring & monitoring; risk assessment; targets & goals; and value chain engagement. This company received a CDP Water Security Score of C.
Source: CDP (2020)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Wholly-owned subsidiary
Revenue $55.4 million in 2013
Employees 190 in 2013

Contact Details

Address 111 Keys Rd, Moorabbin, VIC, 3189, Australia
Phone 03 9555 6655
Fax 03 9553 2682
Freecall 1800 811 511
Email info-au@puma.com
Website au.puma.com

Products / Brands

Puma Australia
Puma Sportswear
Puma Sports Shoes
Puma Activewear


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