Would you pay a premium for a better wage?

US based Human Rights and Sociology Student Amina Shakeel talks with Chief of Staff and Director of Engagement Shelly Han from the Fair Labour Association (FLA). Join them both in conversations touching on the challenges faced by migrant workers in the textiles industry and hear what’s being done by the FLA, as well as brands, to create a fairer labour market in the global south.

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PUMA has ten target areas, each with a set of goals, that we are striving to reach by 2025. This episode focuses on the target area of Fair Wages.Fair wages means a salary that is reflective of the value or class of services provided.

What it actually means: Oftentimes in the fashion industry, workers in the global south are undervalued and underpaid for the work that they provide. To combat this, PUMA works with the Fair Labour Association to ensure that they are compensating their direct workers and suppliers a wage that is fair.

Goal 1: Fair-wage assessments for the top five sourcing countries

During an assessment conducted by the Fair Wage Network, workers’ satisfaction with wages and working conditions was found to be relatively good, in average, with 95% workers being either ‘fully’ or ‘partly’ satisfied with their wages and 86% workers being either ‘fully’ or ‘partly’ satisfied with working conditions.

These assessments were carried out in four of five of our top sourcing countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam)

Goal 2: Effective and democratically elected worker representatives at all core suppliers

Otherwise known as unions, PUMA supports democratically elected worker representatives in all core suppliers. In 2022, 48% of Tier 1 factories had effective representation in place.

And in case you’re wondering: Tier 1 are the factories which put the components together to make the final product.

Goal 3: Ensure bank transfer payments for all core suppliers

In 2022, 99.3% of our core factories paid workers digitally, only one out of the 147 core factories had 717 employees who have not yet received their payment digitally.

Digital payments are important because it means we now have a record of the payment and it cannot be intercepted.

PUMA publishes all of its progress, challenges and setbacks in its Sustainability Report. You can find the 2022 report online now by going to about.puma.com