PUMA announced July 6 that it had signed up for the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather program, meaning the organization has committed itself to sourcing all of its bovine leather from verified deforestation-free supply chains by 2030 or sooner.

Even though 100% of the leather that PUMA currently sources is from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries, half of the leather used by the company is Suede, which is a byproduct of the full-grain leather business. As a result, PUMA must source from some Suede tanneries that work with agents and other intermediaries outside of direct tanneries, creating a visibility challenge at the cattle ranching level, according to a statement from the company.

“To mitigate the risk of biodiversity loss due to our production processes, PUMA addresses environmental pollution risk through our targets to increase the use of more sustainable materials and through our suppliers’ program on climate, chemicals, water, and air,” said Veronique Rochet, the senior head of Sustainability at PUMA. “This deforestation-free commitment also directly supports one of PUMA’s 10FOR25 sustainability targets dedicated to reducing our impact on biodiversity. To help the protection of endangered forests and species, PUMA also commits to not using any wood or wood-derived fabrics made from ancient and endangered forests."

The Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather initiative was announced in June 2023 by the Textile Exchange and Leather Working Group and is aimed at creating transparent, equitable and deforestation-free leather supply chains.