Nike he said he will stop using kangaroo skins for their shoes this year, weeks after a similar step by German rival Cougarwhich would put an end to a highly controversial practice that has drawn the ire of consumers and animal rights activists.
Sportswear giant Nike said in a statement that it will introduce a new line of Tiempo football boots, called Time Legend Elite, with a patented synthetic material that replaces the use of kangaroo leather.
The Tiempo Premier line of football boots, due to launch this summer, will also forgo kangaroo leather, Nike said. The company ended its partnership with its sole supplier of kangaroo leather in 2021, he added.
Nike and Puma’s decision to stop using kangaroo leather in their football boots is a big win for animal welfare activists who have long urged companies to abandon unethical practices involving animal cruelty.
“Nike’s announcement…is a seismic event in wildlife protection, and the tremors will be felt around the world, especially in Australia, where the mass commercial killing of kangaroos occurs,” he said. Wayne Pacellepresident of the Center for a Humane Economics, on Tuesday.
The group spearheaded the campaign “Kangaroos are not shoes” which he announced in 2020, and has been instrumental in introducing legislation banning the import and sale of kangaroo products.
A growing generation of younger, environmentally conscious shoppers has also pushed for clothing companies to become more sustainable.
Sports company Puma redesigned its King soccer cleat by introducing its new K-better technology to deliver performance without kangaroo leather, “a completely new upper material that is not based on animals. The upper part contains at least 20% recycled material as a step towards a better future”, says a statement from the company.
The owner of gucciKering SA, the Italian Prada and the manufacturer of luxury parkas Canada Goose Holdings Inc abandoned the use of animal fur in its collections in recent years.
California has not allowed kangaroo products to be sold or imported into the state since 1971.
(With information from Reuters)
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Source-www.infobae.com