Puma has responded to a Greenpeace challenge to ‘detox’ by publicly committing to the elimination of all releases of hazardous chemicals from its product lifecycle and across its global supply chain by 2020.
Puma’s move comes less than two weeks after Greenpeace launched its ‘Dirty Laundry’ report, which identifies commercial links between major clothing brands such as Nike, adidas and Puma, and suppliers responsible for releasing hazardous and hormone disrupting chemicals into Chinese rivers. ??
“Round one of the Detox challenge goes to Puma – now Nike and adidas had better get in gear or risk falling behind in the race towards a toxic-free future,” says Martin Hojsik, coordinator of the Toxic Water campaign at Greenpeace International.
“It’s not enough for Nike and adidas to follow Puma’s lead – Greenpeace is calling on all three companies to show leadership by becoming more transparent about the hazardous chemicals currently released during the manufacture of their products.” ??
Puma’s statement incorporates many elements highlighted by Greenpeace as crucial to bringing about systematic change within the textile industry, including a precautionary approach to chemicals management, a clear timeline for reaching zero discharge, and the elimination of all discharges of hazardous chemicals throughout its supply chain and product lifecycle – including those coming from polluting production activities such as wet processing (dyeing, washing, printing and fabric finishing that leads to the discharge of large quantities of wastewater containing toxic substances).
Puma has also stated that it will publish an action plan within the next eight weeks that will detail how it intends to deliver on its commitment. ??
The Greenpeace ‘Detox’ challenge continues to build momentum, with thousands of people adding their names to an online petition that challenges the CEOs of Nike and adidas to use their power and influence to tackle the issue of toxic water pollution and convert their words into actions. ??
According to Greenpeace, as much as 70 per cent of China’s rivers, lakes and reservoirs are affected by water pollution.
