Puma (brand)
Puma SE is a German multinational corporation that designs and manufactures athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Puma is the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world.[6] The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler (1898–1974). In 1924, Rudolf and his brother Adolf "Adi" Dassler had jointly formed the company Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ('Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory'). The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until they agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Following the split, Rudolf originally registered the newly established company as Ruda (derived from Rudolf Dassler, as Adidas was based on Adi Dassler), but later changed the name to Puma. Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe and clothing designs feature the Puma logo and the distinctive "Formstrip" which was introduced in 1958.[7]
Not to be confused with Puma Energy.Company type
DE0006969603 
Split from Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory
1948
Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany
Worldwide
€8.465 billion (2022)
€640 million (2022)
€353 million (2022)
€6.772 billion (2022)
€2.538 billion (2022)
18,071 (2022)
- Cobra Golf
- stichd[2]
- Fuel for Fans
History[edit]
Background[edit]
Christoph Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline ran a small laundry in the Franconian town of Herzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Nuremberg. After leaving school, their son, Rudolf Dassler, joined his father at the shoe factory. When he returned from fighting in World War I, Rudolf was trained as a salesman at a porcelain factory, and later in a leather trading business in Nuremberg.[8]
In July 1924, Rudolf and his younger brother, Adolf, nicknamed "Adi", founded a shoe factory. They named the new business "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) which was the only business at the time that manufactured sports shoes.[9] The pair started their venture in their mother's laundry. At the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.[10] In 1927, they moved into a separate building.
The brothers drove from Bavaria to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Owens won four gold medals. Business boomed; the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes annually before World War II.[11]
Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was a keen Nazi, who applied to join, and was accepted into the Gestapo; they produced boots for the Wehrmacht.[12][13] A growing rift between the brothers reached a breaking point during a 1943 Allied bomb attack. Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in. "Here are the bloody bastards again," Adi remarked, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf, due to his apparent insecurity, was convinced his brother meant him and his family.[14] When Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.[10]
Labour practices and factory conditions[edit]
In 2000, Puma began auditing all of its suppliers on a yearly basis, and makes the results available in its sustainability reports. Since 2005, it has publicly provided a list of its suppliers.[75]
In August 2004, a joint report from the National Labor Committee and China Labor Watch stated that workers at some of Puma's Chinese factories were enduring sweatshop conditions, working up to 16.5 hours per day for about US$0.31 an hour. Puma said it would investigate the claims.[76]
In February 2012, a woman who worked for one of Puma's suppliers in Cambodia was shot during a protest over factory working conditions. Puma acknowledged the poor working conditions and said it would work to improve the situation.[77]
According to a joint report from Labour Behind the Label and Community Legal Education Centre, 30 workers fainted in November 2012 while producing clothing for Puma in China. The faintings were caused by excessive heat and alleged forced overtime.[78][79] In 2014, almost 120 workers fainted in two Cambodian clothing factories where sportswear was being produced for Puma and Adidas, due to temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 °C).[79][80] In March 2017, 150 workers assembling Puma products in Cambodia fainted due to thick smoke.[81]
Puma has obtained the Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation for its Australian-made products.[82] This labour-friendly accreditation applies to only a small percentage of Puma's total production.
In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including Puma, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.[83] In 2022, researchers from Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences identified cotton from Xinjiang in Puma shirts.[84]
Research of the social democratic party in the European Parliament, the Sheffield Hallam University and further groups showed in December 2023 Puma is using Uyghur forced labour in camps provided by the Anhui Hunao Group Co. ltd for production.[85]
Environmental practices[edit]
In May 2011, English newspaper The Guardian stated that Puma was the "world's first major company to put a value on its environmental impact" and that Puma "has made a commitment that within four years, half its international collections will be manufactured according to its internal sustainability standard, by using more sustainable materials such as recycled polyester, as well as ensuring its suppliers develop more sustainable materials and products."[86]
Puma is also known for boosting positive environmental practices in its supply chain through financial incentives. The supply chain finance scheme implemented links the sustainability performance of key suppliers to the costs at which they can access finance. Puma managed to limit the carbon emissions that emanate from its supply chain through employing more eco-friendly and less carbon intensive materials.[87] The system won the company an "Innovation Award" in Supply Chain Finance in 2016.[88]
Puma managed to reduce its own carbon emissions worldwide by 88% between 2017 and 2021.[87] This was mainly facilitated through buying renewable energy or renewable energy certificates.[87]
In 2023, Puma announced that it would stop using kangaroo leather in its products, including its redesigned KING football boot, which features uppers containing at least 20% recycled material.[89][90] Also in 2023, Puma announced its new sustainable initiative, Voices of a Re:Generation, which aims to develop the brand's 'sustainable journey' through involving the 'recommendations' and 'perspectives' of the next generation.[91][92]
In January 2024, the fashion Energy Report of Utility Bidder, a utility switching service, categorized Puma as the 'most sustainable brand' with a high sustainability rating, a high level of transparency, and a low amount of CO2 produced when someone visits their website.[93]
