Nine major athletic brands end kangaroo leather use in historic win

The milestone marks the culmination of a five-year campaign that transformed an entire industry’s approach to materials sourcing. The Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign, launched in 2020 by the Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action, successfully convinced the world’s leading athletic shoe manufacturers to abandon kangaroo skins for soccer cleats and other footwear.

“In a five-year period, the Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign convinced all of the world’s major athletic shoe companies to stop sourcing kangaroo skins for their soccer shoes, including some of the biggest brand names in all the world,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy. “This is a triumph of moral intention but also of human ingenuity at work to develop alternative products that perform for consumers.”

Superior synthetics replace wildlife skins

Several brands have reported developing synthetic materials that outperform kangaroo leather. Adidas, Sokito and Puma have all noted their new proprietary materials deliver better performance characteristics than the animal-based alternative they replaced.

Nike developed a proprietary synthetic upper for its Tiempo line that the company describes as superior to kangaroo leather, while Puma introduced K-Better, a non-animal material made with at least 20 percent recycled content, for its King soccer boot line.

The shift comes after years when kangaroo leather, marketed as “k-leather,” commanded premium prices in the soccer cleat market. Top-tier models from Nike, Adidas, Puma and Mizuno historically ranged from $220 (€187) to $350 (€298), according to ESPN.

Timeline of corporate commitments

The campaign achieved a cascade of commitments beginning in 2019. Italian brand Diadora was among the earliest to discontinue kangaroo leather in October 2019. The momentum accelerated significantly in March 2023 when Puma announced it would phase out kangaroo leather within 10 months, followed days later by Nike with a similar timeline. Both companies completed their transitions by the end of 2023.

New Balance joined in September 2023, pledging to halt sourcing and sales of kangaroo-based shoes by December 2024. The UK-based Sokito ended use in 2024.

The final major holdouts – Adidas, ASICS and Mizuno – all committed in 2025 after intensified pressure. In May 2025, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden announced at the company’s annual general meeting in Fürth, Germany, that the company had already exited the kangaroo skin trade months earlier. ASICS followed within days, and Mizuno committed to phasing out all kangaroo leather models shortly after.

How advocates changed an industry

The campaign employed multiple strategies to shift corporate policies. Activists staged protests in the US, Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. The Center for a Humane Economy engaged directly with corporate shareholders and directors while educating consumers about the wildlife slaughter behind the products.

“The campaign employed a multi-faceted strategy combining direct corporate outreach, shareholder engagement, consumer education, and grassroots activism,” said Jennifer Skiff, director of the Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign. “We also engaged with corporate shareholders and directors, appealing to them to stop their participation in an inhumane, unethical commercial kill that, in many cases, conflicted with their own corporate policies.”

Animal rights campaigner Donny Moss called the campaign “the most impactful wildlife campaign I’ve seen in my twenty years as an activist.” Multiple lawsuits were also filed in California, where kangaroo leather products are already banned, alleging retailers illegally sold soccer cleats made with the material.

Australia’s commercial kangaroo kill

Approximately 2 million kangaroos are killed annually in Australia’s commercial hunting industry, which advocates describe as the largest land-based wildlife slaughter in the world. The kill includes nursing mothers, leaving joeys to die of starvation, predation, exposure or blunt force trauma.

As of April 2021, the global commercial kangaroo product industry was worth roughly $200m (€170m) annually to Australia, with the US representing the second-largest market at $80m (€68m). The majority of kangaroo leather hides were used for high-end soccer cleats.

The Australian government has sanctioned commercial harvests to manage kangaroo populations since 1999, though animal welfare organizations dispute both the methods and necessity of the culls.

Push for federal ban gains momentum

With corporate victories secured, advocacy organizations are now focusing on legislative action. US Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced the Kangaroo Protection Act (H.R. 1992) in March 2025, which would ban the import of kangaroo body parts or products into the US.

US Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced a companion bill in the Senate in June 2025. California currently remains the only US state prohibiting the sale of kangaroo-based products. The Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action are calling on the public to contact their members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the legislation. The campaign’s focus now extends beyond athletic shoes to address the broader trade in kangaroo products, including skins for other uses and meat for pet food.

About

• The Center for a Humane Economy is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to help animals by helping forge a more humane economic order. The organization encourages businesses to honor their social responsibilities in a culture where consumers, investors and other stakeholders reject cruelty and environmental degradation.

• Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, DC-based organization whose mission is to help animals by promoting laws and regulations at federal, state and local levels that forbid cruelty to all animals.