Oregon lawmakers are taking aim at kangaroo leather in athletic footwear, particularly high-end soccer shoes, according to SGI USA. A new proposed bill would ban the purchase, receipt, sale or commercial exchange of products containing parts of a dead kangaroo. In a related release, Nike was taken to task: “[We understand] this legislation may have financial impact on some Oregon shoe manufacturers, but in the balance Oregon should be standing on the humane side of this issue.” In the past, Nike had admitted to ESPN that it uses kangaroo leather for a “small portion” of its football shoes but that its suppliers follow reasonable protocols and humane treatment. A federal ban on kangaroo leather failed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021, while Connecticut introduced a similar bill this year. California is the only state to ban kangaroo leather, a law that went into effect in the 1970s.
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