Melanated People

3 yrs

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3 yrs

Nike said Monday that it will no longer be using kangaroo leather in its products by the end of the year, an announcement that comes just weeks after Puma said it would stop using the material in soccer boots in 2023.

Kangaroo leather—often marketed to the public as ‘k-leather’—has been a fixture of soccer cleats for years. ESPN identified more than 70 types of cleats on Soccer.com containing kangaroo leather, offered not only by Puma and Nike, but also brands like Adidas, New Balance, and Mizuno.

Though there is no federal law in the U.S. restricting kangaroo leather, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the House in 2021 to ‘prohibit and criminalize the import, transport, and sale of all kangaroo products in the United States for commercial purposes,’ per ESPN.

A similar bill was introduced in the Oregon state legislature earlier this year. Nike is based in Oregon and is one of the state’s most influential companies.

The kangaroo leather industry has historically been worth hundreds of millions to Australia’s economy. However, it has taken a hit in recent years as sports companies and other fashion brands like H&M, Prada, and Versace have also publicly pledged to avoid using the material.