Puma opens its supply chain to young changemakers to shape the future of sustainability

Sportswear giant Puma has launched a new initiative to improve its sustainability journey by collaborating with the next generation of sustainability changemakers.

The project, coined 'Voices of a RE:GENERATION', kicks off by collaborating with four environmentalist ‘voices’ from across Europe and the US during a year-long period.

The four 'Voices of a RE:GENERATION' will work with Puma to translate sustainability in a way that engages the next generation, in addition to discovering ways for the brand to improve its current practices.

The four that make Puma’s Voices of a RE:GENERATION:

• Alice Aedy - UK-based Co-founder of Earthrise Studio, an impact-driven media company focused on human stories from climate frontlines.
• Andrew Burgess – US-based upcycler determined to change the way people consume fashion.
• Luke Jaque-Rodney – Germany-based sustainable and healthy living vlogger.
• Jade Roche – France-based visual artist who works with brands to improve their communication.

Alice Aedy said: "Sustainability is highly unglamorous, technical but urgent work with impacts for both people and planet. It’s undeniably a hugely complex topic. It’s deeper than just materials or emissions; it’s about the people and processes that strive behind the scenes to realise a brand’s efforts to be more sustainable and it’s also about how the brand, like Puma, is communicating that with authenticity."

This new project is a continuation of the work Puma started in London last September with its ‘Conference of the People’. The conference, which discussed solutions for some of the fashion industry’s most pressing sustainability challenges, highlighted the need for brands to improve transparency and conduct greater communication regarding sustainability.

Puma uncovered that 71% of young people felt their voices weren’t being heard when it comes to the environment and would like to see brands making more commitments (49%), communicating their goals better (40%) and being more transparent (34%).

Throughout 2023, Puma’s Voices of a RE:GENERATION will meet with Anne-Laure Descours, Puma’s Chief Sourcing Officer, and the company’s sustainability team to collaborate and present their honest views.

Anne-Laure Descours, Chief Sourcing Officer at Puma, commented: "We’ve always documented our progress in sustainable practices. However, our participation in Conference of the People has shed light on the fact that the information we share isn’t always easily understood by the next generation.

"We recognise the need for change, and we're committed to making sustainability more accessible and transparent to everyone. Voices of a RE:GENERATION is our first step in improving this."