Nike reported it would stop using kangaroo leather in its shoes amid moves from U.S. state and federal lawmakers to ban the sale of kangaroo products.
Nike said it would use a proprietary synthetic material to replace the use of kangaroo leather, timed with the launch this summer of a new line of Tiempo football boots called the Tiempo Legend Elite.
Nike said, “This summer, Nike will launch a new boot innovation in its Tiempo franchise. The Tiempo Legend Elite will debut with a new Nike-only, proprietary synthetic upper. The upper has a new material that is a better performance solution and replaces kangaroo leather. In addition, the Tiempo Premier, also set to launch this summer, will move away from using kangaroo leather. Nike divested of its only kangaroo leather supplier in 2021 and will stop making any product with kangaroo leather in 2023.”
Nike’s move follows Puma’s announcement earlier this month that it would stop making football boots with kangaroo leather this year. Puma said on its website that its new king model shoe features “K-Better, a non-animal based upper material.”
Asked if Adidas also planned to phase out kangaroo leather, spokesperson Stefan Pursche told the Washington Post that kangaroo leather “plays a minor role and is significantly below one percent because we’ve been able to substitute kangaroo leather with other innovative materials in many products.”
Nike’s decision follows the introduction of a bill in January in Oregon, where the company is headquartered, which would ban products containing dead kangaroos. A separate bill before the House of Representatives would criminalize the import, transport and sale of kangaroo products.
California prohibits the sale of all kangaroo products.
