Kangaroo leather producers are furious after sportswear giant Puma announces it is ditching ‘k-leather’ in football boots for a synthetic vegan alternative
- Puma will abandon kangaroo leather in its football boots
- Australian leather producers have criticized the decision.
- They say it has been driven by a ‘disinformation campaign’
Kangaroo leather producers have criticized Puma’s decision to ditch ‘k-leather’ football boots in favor of a ‘vegan’ synthetic material.
The German sportswear company announced the move after intense pressure from animal welfare groups in the United States and Europe who claim the practice is cruel.
But leather producers say they have fallen victim to an international leather ‘disinformation campaign’ that threatens the lucrative Australian industry.
“It’s fake news and they don’t want to see the facts,” chairman of Brisbane-based Packer Leather. lindsay packer said the aussie.
‘Some days I get angry. It affects employment, it affects dollars.’
Kangaroo leather producers have criticized Puma’s decision to ditch K-leather football boots in favor of ‘vegan’ synthetic materials (PSG’s Neymar Jr pictured in 2020)
The German sportswear company announced the move after intense pressure from animal welfare groups in the United States and Europe who claim the practice is cruel.
Puma is now switching to a new material called ‘K-Better’.
The sportswear giant, which supplies boots to the elite stars of soccer, the AFL, rugby union and the NRL, claims its new shoes are “proven” to outperform previous versions made from kangaroos.
“PUMA is so convinced of the performance characteristics of K-BETTER that it will stop producing football boots with kangaroo leather entirely this year,” the company said on its website.
Sydney shoemaker Andrew McDonald told the publication that leather is superior for boots as it has “the ability to absorb moisture and then expel it”, while synthetic shoes are “unhealthy for the feet”.
He said Puma’s decision to ditch kangaroo leather was a “branding exercise” the company would regret in time.
He added that the push to protect kangaroos was based on “misinformation” as the animals are considered a “pest species” in Australia and must be culled.
This point was supported by industry leaders in the kangaroo trade who noted that only a small percentage of the kangaroo population, which exceeds 40 million, is caught commercially.
It comes months after Kangaroo Industry Association Australia chief executive Dennis King criticized a decision by the US states of Connecticut and Oregon to introduce legislation that would ban the sale of kangaroo products.
He said the move was “spurred by emotional misinformation from animal activist groups attacking US politicians.”
“In the absence of a commercial industry, culling would still need to be done to manage populations of certain species,” he said.
Leather producers and industry leaders have criticized Puma’s decision, claiming there has been a “disinformation campaign” about kangaroo leather spread abroad (file image)
There are also only seven of the 60 kangaroo and wallaby species approved for take. These species are not on the list of rare or threatened species (archive image)
The Australian government has also been working to disprove myths about the commercial trapping of kangaroos.
A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry told News Corp: “The government is addressing misconceptions that kangaroo harvesting in Australia is inhumane, highlighting the importance of humane and sustainable management of kangaroos to prevent damage to the ecosystem and the loss of crops”.
There are also only seven of the 60 kangaroo and wallaby species approved for commercial capture. These species are not on the list of rare or threatened species.
Some environmentalists say that banning the trade in kangaroo products would create more harm for kangaroos due to overpopulation.