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WF FOOTPRINTS
HAPPENINGS, PEOPLE AND PLACES
NEW SENIOR APPOINTMENT
AT THE JONES GROUP
US-based footwear company The
Jones Group has announced that Scott
Bowman will take on a newly created
role as group president of global retail
and international development.
Mr Bowman will oversee the firm’s
new international division, as well as
the retail and licensing operations for
the company’s portfolio of fashion
brands. He will report to Richard
Dickson, president and CEO of
branded businesses.
He previously served as president of
international business development at
Polo Ralph Lauren and prior to this he
was CEO of Marc Jacobs International.
“Scott’s unique expertise and vision
will be a valuable asset in managing
the continued international expansion
of our portfolio of fashion brands as
we continue to build The Jones Group
into the leading global fashion
company defined by premier brands
led by exceptional talent,” Mr Dickson
commented.
JOHN VANCE TO LEAD
FREEWATERS FOOTWEAR
Freewaters Footwear has named
John Vance as its new president and
chief executive officer.
Mr Vance joins Freewaters after
eight years at shoe brand Sanuk,
where he served as president and chief
operating officer. Prior to this, he
served as a vice president at Quiksilver
as well as holding executive positions
at Op and Airwalk earlier in his career.
Commenting on his new role, Mr
Vance said: “Since first meeting
[cofounders] Martin and Eli, I was
struck with their strong design
backgrounds and their commitment to
thinking outside the box.
“We have been working together
around the clock on putting together a
completely new product collection and
new message management strategy
for spring 2013.
“We will be introducing an
extremely comfortable closed-toe
footwear line, which we are very
excited about.”
6
WORLD FOOTWEAR | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
Footprints
PUMA ISSUES WARNING TO
“SUPPLIERS AND
COUNTRIES” OVER
GUARANTEES ON
SUSTAINABLE LEATHER
Sports brand Puma has told
World
Footwear
that recent comments from
its executive chairman, Jochen Zeitz,
that appear to criticise the leather
industry are a repeat of previous
messages from the company.
Mr Zeitz travelled to Rio de Janeiro at
the end of June for the United Nations
Rio+20 earth summit. In conversation
there with the
Financial Times
, he said:
“We should eat less meat, all of us, and
we should use less leather. We all
know that cattle and beef are among
the biggest contributors to carbon
emissions. We have to find alternative
ways of producing our raw materials
without asking nature to do it for us.”
He went on to say that analysis Puma, part of the PPR Group, has carried out
shows that the biggest environmental impact in its value chain occurs among its
tier-four suppliers, those who source raw materials from nature, including the
cattle that are the source of its leather. He told the newspaper that leather was
“the biggest impact driver”.
Parent group PPR has given all of its brands detailed targets for improving the
sustainability of their products. Specific to leather, they will have to monitor
supplier tanneries to make sure no raw material being made into leather for PPR
brands has a link to illegally deforested land, including land used to grow
foodstuffs for cattle. Exotic skins must come from approved projects that protect
animals and respect their habitats. However, no PVC, from which many synthetic
substitute materials are made, will be allowed in PPR brands’ products. Brands
have until 2016 to comply.
Puma told
World Footwear
that it was already preparing to make 50% of its of
its products in accordance with its own sustainability standards, collectively
called the S-Index, by 2015. It said it aimed to use more recycled polyester
because of “the enormous environmental impact of raw material production”.
In the days following the publication of Mr Zeitz’s comments in the newspaper,
Puma issued a statement, saying: “Over half of all environmental impacts along
Puma’s global supply chain are associated with the production of raw materials,
including leather. These impacts are mainly caused by methane emissions and
land use due to cattle farming.”
It said it has been researching for alternative materials and “more
environmentally friendly methods of raw material sourcing” for some time.
Alternatives include the use of substitute and recycled materials if it can do so
without any loss in quality. It also said it wants “more sustainable production of
conventional materials” and warned that it will terminate the contracts “of
suppliers and countries that do not guarantee to refrain from clearing rainforests
for the cultivation of raw materials”.
The company said it would work with other industry players to pursue these
aims and insisted that it requires “the engagement of the whole industry to
implement sustainable production and cultivation practices”.
Puma executive chairman, Jochen Zeitz.
CREDIT: PUMA