Nike to stop using kangaroo leather in its shoes

MoneyFeatureInternational News
By Sama Mousa
Sportswear giant Nike announced on Monday that it will stop using Kangaroo’s leather in its shoes in 2023, shortly after Puma took the same decision. The move will end a highly controversial practice that caused rage from consumer and animal rights activists.
The company said in the statement that it will debut a new line of Tiempo football boots with the name Tiempo Legend Elite and it will be created of proprietary synthetic material instead of kangaroo leather.

The new line is set to launch in the summer, the company said in a statement, adding that it has ended its partnership with its only kangaroo leather supplier in 2021.

The decision to stop the usage of kangaroo leather from both Nike and Puma came as a victory for animal welfare activists who constantly urged companies to stop unethical practices that involve animal cruelty.

President of the Center for a Humane Economy, Wayne Pacelle, said on Tuesday “Nike’s announcement…is a seismic event in wildlife protection, and tremors will be felt all over the world, especially in Australia where the mass commercial slaughter of kangaroos occurs,”

The group had already announced a campaign with the title Kangaroos Are Not Shoes in 2020 and it has been a key element behind the creation of legislation to ban the import and sale of kangaroo products.

Consumers have also insisted on more sustainability from clothing companies. Companies like Gucci, Prada and Canada Goose Holdings Inc. have all dropped the use of animal fur in their collections throughout the past few years.

Since 1971, California banned the production and the sale of products made from kangaroos in the state.

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