Major sportswear brand Puma has announced a timtable for phasing out poly- and per-fluorinated compounds (PFCs) and reporting on its use of chemicals. The measures follow its "Detox" commitment, announced in response to Greenpeace's campaign of the same name in 2011, to eliminate all hazardous chemical use across its global supply chain.

Puma says it will deliver full transparency of its hazardous chemical use via a manufacturing restricted substance list (M-RSL). It will also publicly report on this information.

The company will report no later than 31 December on at least 80% of wet processes - operations requiring water - across its global supply chain, including China and other parts of the developing world. These processes include pretreatment, printing and finishing.

In addition, it says it will publicly commit to eliminating all long-chain PFCs across its global supply chain by no later than 1 January 2015. This will be supported by:

• a commitment to eliminate any other PFCs, in addition to all long-chain, by no later than 31 December 2017;
• a “rigorous system” of control to ensure that no traces of PFCs find their way into the supply chain; and
• a promise to work in partnership with its supply chain and other global industry leaders to accelerate the move to environmentally responsible non-PFC technologies.

PFCs are used in the textiles industry to make products stain, grease and water resistant, but studies suggest the substances, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have adverse effects on the environment and human health.

The use of PFOS was restricted under the UN Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 2009. Under the convention, which has been ratified by most countries, but not the US, its use is only acceptable in some instances where alternatives are not available, such as anti-reflective coatings. The EU REACH Regulation added some PFCs to the candidate list of substances of very high concern in June 2013.

"Puma’s announcement shows that the company is taking its Detox commitment seriously,” says Manfred Santen, detox campaigner at Greenpeace Germany. “The detailed action plan for phasing out dangerous chemicals and releasing discharge data is another huge step towards a toxic-free future," he adds.

Puma declined a request from Chemical Watch to provide further details on the measures proposed.

In June, Adidas announced its own pledge to manufacture 99% PFC-free products by 31 December 2017. The pledge builds on its commitment to phase out long-chain PFCs by 1 January 2015.

In 2011, apparel firms, Adidas, C&A, H&M, Li Ning, Nike and Puma released a joint roadmap towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals (ZDHC) in the supply chain by 2020 .

Source：Chemical watch

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