Puma x First Mile: Collection made from recycled plastic
Global sports brand PUMA and First Mile have co-created a sportswear collection made from recycled plastic. Puma x First Mile, is a sustainable collection made from more than 1.9 lakh recycled plastic bottles. The collaboration with First Mile is part of PUMA’s commitment to reduce its environmental impact and live up to its code of being “Forever Better”.
PUMA x FIRST MILE collection consists of shoes and apparel made from recycled yarn that is manufactured from plastic bottles collected in the First Mile network.
Puma’s new apparel collection is made of 83-100 per cent of the sustainable yarn from First Mile. The first Puma x First Mile training collection will be available at brand outlets, selected retailers as well as brand’s e-commerce site starting 21 February.
“The Puma and First Mile programme has diverted about 40 tonnes of plastic waste from landfills and oceans, just for the products made for 2020”
Last year, sportswear giant Reebok also released its first-ever plant-based performance shoes, made from castor bean oil, eucalyptus tree, algae, and natural rubber instead of petroleum plastics.
Puma’s rival Adidas has been working with nonprofit Parley since 2015 to manufacture sneakers made from recycled plastic. Recently, Adidas said that it will produce 15-20 million pairs of shoes using ocean plastic in 2020.
Despite the craze of fast fashion brands globally, a small section of brands are taking baby steps towards creating ethical fashion. In India, a variety of big and small-scale fashion retailers, such as H&M, Wills Lifestyle, W and Akira Ming, are latching onto the concept of organic or slow fashion. Although sustainable fashion, or slow fashion, is still a small contributor to India’s apparel market, which will be worth $59.3 billion in 2022, it is the sixth largest in the world.
About First Mile:
The First Mile is a UK-based waste management and recycling company. The organisation is a people-focused network that strengthens micro-economies in Taiwan, Honduras, and Haiti by collecting plastic bottles to create sustainable jobs and reduce pollution. The bottles are then sorted, cleaned, shredded, and turned into yarn, which is later used to create products with purpose that truly empower from the first mile forward.
First Mile works with various multinational companies to help them recycle waste. It collects about 60,000 tonnes of waste a year.
