BEHIND THE FACTORY DOOR

In 2023, we took our “Voices of a RE:GENERATION” on a visit to our supplier factories in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkey, where they could see first hand how our PUMA products are made. Each “Voice” had the opportunity to capture and share unfiltered footage of their experiences. Last week, Luke Jaque-Rodney and Jade Roche visited our PUMA HQ and shared their experiences as part of our FOREVER. BETTER. Week activities. Read more and watch their films!

UNIQUE VIEWS AND SHARED MEALS

The video series made by the ‘Voices’ Luke Jaque-Rodney and Jade Roche shows some of the social and environmental aspects of the garment industry, highlighting topics such as working conditions, fair wages, waste management and resource efficiency. Through the visits, the ‘Voices’ saw the production processes and talked directly with factory owners and garment workers to learn more and challenge industry views.

Luke and Jade recorded their experiences at PUMA’s apparel and footwear suppliers including DBL Hamza Textiles Ltd, DBL Jinnat Knitwears Ltd, and Urmi Fakhruddin Textiles Ltd in Bangladesh, as well as Dai Loc Shoe Corporation and Alliance One Apparel Co., Ltd in Vietnam. They learned about sustainability efforts undertaken by PUMA’s production partners during the visit, such as fair price shops, childcare facilities, machinery upgrades and more.

STITCH AND SPICE

Luke’s film, “Stitch and Spice” provides a picture of working conditions within the garment industry through interviews taken with workers in Bangladesh and Vietnam.

“My main expectation was that I’m able to show my audience, and those who watch the film, how the people I met in the fashion industry work, live, and what their dreams and hopes are. I had the expectation of being able to show a real, authentic picture. I also had the expectation to hear the truth around how these factories operate, and hear first-hand from the people that work in them.”

“To be honest the reality was shocking the first time – not because it was worse or better than my expectations, but just very different! Stepping into the factory in Bangladesh, I felt so overwhelmed by the noises and everything that was going on, – I had to take few moments for myself. I sat down somewhere in a corner and observed. Nothing else. The more I saw and the more people I spoke to, the more confident I felt in following the mission. The mission of the trip and my personal mission as well. But it wasn’t easy at first.”

MADE IN VIETNAM & MADE IN BANGLADESH

Jade’s films coined ‘MADE IN BANGLADESH’ and ‘MADE IN VIETNAM’ provide unbiased views of production in these regions, aiming to reshape existing perceptions through visual storytelling.

“This trip has added much more context and depth to my understanding of how things work in the industry and the different challenges that factories and brands face within today’s dominant economic system. I also learnt that for instance, the act of lacing shoes has to be done entirely manually, something I had never questioned before. I’m not a big consumer and take care of what I have but it definitely challenged how I value each and every thing.”

“I’m very grateful to have been able to have an actual look at some of the core factories in Vietnam and Bangladesh, working with PUMA, one of the biggest global sports brands in the world’s supply chain. It has given me a deep insight into how the global fashion industry operates today and what some of the challenges are there. It has since made me want to explore further and understand what other brands’ supply chains are like. Where and how do they produce? Why don’t we know more as consumers so we can choose better? I also learnt that the level of effort that brands make can be very varied. We need to hold those making less effort accountable so we can expect actual change.”

We are looking forward to seeing more projects of our Voices of a RE:GENERATION as they continue to collaborate, co-create and educate.

There is only one FOREVER. Let’s make it BETTER.