Puma is the 'most sustainable fashion brand' thanks to this surprising measure

Nowadays we see many studies looking at how sustainable fashion brands are and they often focus on features such as the use of eco-friendly materials and recyclability. But a new one has taken a different angle when analyzing online broadcasts.

And it has concluded that Puma is the most sustainable on this measure, followed by The North Face and Tommy Hilfiger.

For its Trending Energy Report, Utility Bidder (a utility trading service) analyzed the amount of CO2 produced when visiting a website. On top of that, she looked at sustainability ratings and transparency.

Puma achieved an “almost perfect score of 9.63 out of 10.” The company said it is “a sustainability leader with a high sustainability rating, a high level of transparency and a low amount of CO2 produced every time someone visits its website.”

The North Face took second place with 8.84, while PVH's Tommy Hilfiger took third place with 8.19. Both The North Face and Hilfiger have strong sustainability plans: the former aims to make all clothing using 100% responsibly sourced materials by 2025 and the latter aims to have all stores and distribution centers run on 100% energy renewable by 2030. However, its CO2 levels from website visits were higher than Puma's.

Hifiger's PVH partner Calvin Klein came fourth with 8.15, and in fact the amount of CO2 produced when visiting its website was as low as Puma's, although the German sports giant scored better on both its sustainability rating as well as its transparency.

In positions five to ten were Timberland, G-Star Raw, Balenciaga, Burberry (a big improvement from its scandal half a decade ago when it was discovered to be burning unsold products), Converse and sustainability poster Patagonia.