Puma walks sustainable path with new shoe

BOSTON-- Puma has launchedInCycle, the brand's first closed-loop collection of footwear, apparel and accessories, all of which have earned the "Cradle to Cradle Certified[CM] Basic" certification. Puma's InCycle products are entirely biodegradable or recyclable. This product introduction is another important step in PUMA's mission to become the most sustainable and desirable Sportlifestyle company.

"Puma's Cradle to Cradle Certified[CM] Basic InCycle products represent a tremendous step forward in reducing our environmental footprint and giving consumers a more sustainable product choice. The InCycle Basket and Basket Tee Biodegradable have been analyzed as part of PUMA's first Product Environmental Profit and Loss Account published in October 2012 and the results speak for themselves, showing that these two products impacted the environment by a third less than their conventional counterparts" said Reiner Hengstmann, global director of Puma Safe.

Puma collaborated with EPEA, to develop the collection, whose mission it is to help companies fulfill the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute's criteria for the design of ecologically and intelligently designed products. All products in the InCycle collection have been certified by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, whose mission is to provide a continuous improvement quality program to guide product manufacturers and designers in making safe and healthy products for our world. Cradle to Cradle has created a rigorous certification program that rates products against five sustainability factors: 1) the use of environmentally safe and healthy materials; 2) design for material reutilization including recycling and composting; 3) renewable energy and management of carbon; 4) water stewardship; and 5) social fairness.

"We are delighted to have Puma, such a powerful global brand, showing consumers and industry peers exactly what is possible through the adoption of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program," said Bridgett Luther, president of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. "Puma's InCycle Collection raises the bar on what consumers can expect and what the apparel and textiles industries can deliver: products that are not only a delight to use and wear and but are also designed from the start to have a positive environmental footprint as they biodegrade safely to soil and are returned to industry as a valuable resource."

The Puma InCycle collection can be broken down using one of two processes: the technical cycle or the biological cycle. Materials within the biological cycle can be broken down by microorganisms into biological nutrients and will go back into the earth, thus making them biodegradable. Materials found within the technical cycle - such as metals, textiles, and plastics - can then be used to create new products.