16-05-2025
Adidas halts use of controversial Aussie product in shoes
Animal rights campaigners are claiming victory after Adidas announced it was no longer using leather harvested from wild Australian kangaroos. Pressure had been mounting on the German-based sporting manufacturer to cease using the product in its soccer boots because of animal welfare concerns.
United States-based Center for a Humane Economy has run a high-profile campaign, highlighting concerns about a lack of oversight when kangaroos are shot, and that joeys are considered collateral and bludgeoned to death. In 2023, Puma, Nike and New Balance abandoned the product, commercially known as K-leather, and switched to synthetic alternatives, which they said were superior.
Speaking to Yahoo News from Frankfurt on Friday night, Center for a Humane Economy president Wayne Pacelle said the company's sudden announcement came as a 'surprise', but it was welcome. 'It was time for this very strong global brand to divorce itself from the largest massacre of terrestrial wildlife in the world,' he said.
While Adidas used a small amount of leather in its shoes, a decision from such a high profile company is set to be a blow to the industry's morale. Advocates of wild kangaroo harvesting claim their product is more sustainable than farmed alternatives like cow leather and that the animals are harvested sustainably.
The Australian Wild Game Industry Council argues shooters kill in a way that "minimises pain, suffering and distress". "The methods for the euthanasia of joeys in instances where they are unintentionally orphaned are also based on scientific research into kangaroo behaviour and ecology," it maintains.
Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden announced the decision on May 15 at the company's Annual General Meeting in Fürth, Germany.
'The good news is that we don't need to discuss this anymore because we haven't bought any kangaroo leather since August last year,' he said in German before confirming an end to future production. In video of the speech, seen by Yahoo News, members of the 250-person strong crowd can then be heard erupting in applause.
Gulden's announcement followed a 6-minute address by Pacelle, who had travelled from Washington to address the board. Dressed in a suit and tie, and standing at the podium, he delivered what he "hoped" would be a 'very rational argument' on animal welfare and why choices made by large commercial brands like Adidas matter.
Continuing, he claimed the conditions of the slaughter did not meet Adidas's own animal welfare standards, and that shooting them to make football boots was 'no longer acceptable in the 21st century'.
'We don't need to use kangaroo leather, it is completely unnecessary. If we take an honest look at what's happening with these animals, we know that this is no longer justifiable,' he added, before reminding the board that in the United States, animal welfare has more donors than any other cause.
Following Pacelle's speech, Gulden denied Adidas's decision to stop using kangaroo leather was influenced by Center for a Humane Economy's campaign, or that kangaroos were directly shot to make shoes.
'We don't agree on the matter because you know the meat industry is responsible for regulating the population,' he said in German. 'Shoe production uses waste products, so we'll see now because I hope you come every year, and then we can see if it improves just because we don't make the shoes.'
Speaking later with Yahoo, Gulden said leather was a valuable component of what makes kangaroo shooting viable, noting the flesh is not sold at a high price, with much of it used as pet food.
He was "baffled" as to why Adidas took so long to make the announcement, given K-leather hadn't been purchased since last year.
Protests had been ongoing at stores across the United States, with activists entering shops with placards and calling on the company to abandon its use of kangaroo. "These have created a lot of clamour within the company, and it is definitely behind Nike in the United States, which is definitely an important market," Gulden said.
Kangaroo continues to be used in luxury handbags and boots, and by Japanese sporting goods manufacturers Mizuno and ASICS. Center for a Humane Economy is now turning its attention to these shoe brands, and will work to fight any industry expansion into other international markets like China.
Animal welfare groups around the world have celebrated Adidas's announcement, which was the most high-profile sporting company to continue selling K-leather boots.
Center for a Humane Economy's director of international programs Jennifer Skiff told Yahoo that today had been 'a good day'.
Speaking after the AGM she said, 'Adidas's decision marks a historic milestone in animal protection and corporate responsibility. This sends a clear message: compassion is not a compromise. Cruelty has no place in commerce.'
Donny Moss from TheirTurn, a group that led dozens of protests in Adidas, said, 'This win belongs to every advocate who stood outside a store, signed a petition, or raised their voice'.
In Australia, Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst celebrated the decision, calling it a win for 'transparency, ethics, and global consumer expectations'.
'Australians and animal lovers worldwide owe a great deal to the relentless work of the Center for a Humane Economy and the global coalition that made this possible,' she said.
Alyssa Wormald from the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance said it's time for leaders in Australia to see the "writing on the wall" and realise the kangaroo harvesting industry is "dying".
"We know the reduced demand for kangaroo products is hitting the kangaroo industry hard. Very few processors are buying carcasses, so shooters are packing it in, and there is no incentive for new shooters to get involved," she said.
Adidas has been contacted for comment.
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