PUMA AND NIKE DROP KANGAROO SKIN
Kangaroo skin will no longer be used by German sportswear company Puma for its KING soccer boot line; instead, K-BETTER, a new vegan leather alternative, will be used. In 2022, Puma unveiled the KING Platinum 21 Vegan, a football boot that is entirely vegan. However, the uppers of other shoes in the KING line were still made of kangaroo hides. According to Puma, kangaroo leather will no longer be used at all because of how well its vegan leather performs. As a result, the world's largest sportswear company promised to phase it out by the end of 2023.
K-BETTER football boot structure outperforms typical kangaroo hide, according to extensive testing. In fact, K-BETTER outperformed the version developed from animals in every category, scoring higher for sturdiness, touch, and comfort. “The Puma KING is Puma’s most iconic franchise in football and has always stood for using the best materials and the latest in innovation. Over the years we have seen the boot evolve and become ingrained in on pitch and off pitch football culture. From the pitches to the terraces,” Peter Stappen, lead product line manager for Puma said in a statement.
DANIEL KARMANN/PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Just two weeks after PUMA declared it will stop making football boots with kangaroo leather this year, Nike makes a comparable declaration, saying that it will stop using "K-leather" for its Tiempo soccer boot line. In a statement provided to Footwear News, Nike said that starting this year, it will stop producing any products with kangaroo leather and switch to a proprietary synthetic upper. The company previously announced that it would divest its sole source of kangaroo leather in 2021. An Oregon law that was passed earlier this year will soon make it illegal to sell any kangaroo parts or items made with kangaroos. The new mandate might have had a big impact on the choice because Nike's Beaverton headquarters are located there.
One of the iconic animals for which Australia is renowned is the kangaroo. But every year, between 1.5 million and 5 million peaceful, family-oriented kangaroos are murdered for their skin, which is then used to make "k-leather," or the leather used to make apparel and accessories. The Kangaroo Roundtable, of which PETA Australia is a member, has conducted extensive research and discovered that the number of animals killed is frequently underreported or unreported, and that the actual population of kangaroos is frequently inflated by organizations with a stake in their eradication.
The Australian industry looks to be in a panic after many significant buyers stopped buying kangaroo leather. It claims in a statement that any restrictions on culling could result in overpopulation. In Australia, both commercial kangaroo hunting and population-controlling "conservation culls" are permitted. Industry sources assert that if neither is let to continue, non-commercial culling will be required. They claim that this will affect animal welfare.
With Puma's and Nike's decision, the two biggest consumers of kangaroo hides have now abandoned the product. Kangaroo leather has been dropped from the portfolios of prestigious fashion brands including Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Versace and H&M. Now, it's time for adidas and New Balance to do the right thing. Together we will convince these remaining companies that forgoing kangaroo skin is the only sporting decision - SIGN THE PETITION !
