Based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, PUMA has partnered with Ecovative, a company that uses mushroom technology to make a replacement for plastic foam packaging. Fungal mycelium (the equivalent of mushroom “roots”) is grown on agricultural crop waste and is molded to form this unique packaging called EcoCradle. The PUMA boards will ship from manufacturer Clear Carbon and Components in Bristol, RI, in the EcoCradle packaging. Once the boards arrive safely at their destination, the packaging can be broken up and used as mulch, composted at home, or even used as a biodegradable beach toy.
“PUMA has a mission to become the most sustainable sportlifestyle company in the world, and partnering with a company like Ecovative brings us one step closer to this goal,” says Antonio Bertone, chief marketing officer for PUMA AG. “When we [developed] the board, not only did we set out to create a one-of-a-kind paddleboard from a performance point of view, we also wanted to be mindful of the environmental impact.”