Puma's response
PUMA has no direct relationship with Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn Co. Ltd. However, as they are one of the world’s largest cotton yarn suppliers, some of our fabric suppliers buy yarns from them.
The allegations are severe and we are closely monitoring the situation. We had already raised this issue with partners who we collaborate with in terms of monitoring Tier 3 suppliers (yarn suppliers). We continue to observe the case and conduct further investigations.
Since the publication of ASPI’s report we have reached out to our cotton-based garment manufacturers and mapped the origin of the yarns they are using.
In parallel we have contacted the company Huafu and established that production of Huafu yarns used by PUMA suppliers is limited to two manufacturing units of Huafu, namely their production unit in Vietnam and their production unit in the Zhejiang province in Eastern China.
We have been assured by Huafu that there are no migrant workers from western China in either of those two facilities. Furthermore, Huafu has shared a compliance audit report on their Zhejing facility issued by compliance expert organization Elevate with which was prepared in 2019. This report does not show any indications of forced labor.
In addition, Huafu has invited PUMA and other buyers to carry out an independent assessment at their facilities. We are considering to arrange such an assessment...
Our Code of Conduct sets strict regulations for our suppliers to ensure an ethical business conduct. Both in our Code of Conduct and our Supply Chain monitoring program, we clearly ban Forced Labor in any form. Our Sustainability Handbook for Social Standards lists proven cases of Forced Labor as a Zero Tolerance Issue.https://about.puma.com/en/sustainability/codes-and-handbooks