Success: Adidas phases out kangaroo leather
In a landmark decision celebrated by animal welfare advocates around the world, Adidas announced it will no longer use kangaroo leather in its products.
The announcement, made at the annual shareholders’ meeting, marks a significant victory in the fight against animal cruelty and sheds light on the dark reality behind the exploitation of wild animals by the fashion industry.
At a recent shareholders’ meeting, CEO Bjørn Gulden revealed that Adidas had quietly stopped using kangaroo leather months earlier. The confirmation came after Wayne Pacelle, President of the Center for a Humane Economy, had personally travelled to Germany to urge the company to distance itself from the cruel and inhumane trade in kangaroo hides.
Adidas’s decision is the latest success of the “Kangaroos Are Not Shoes” campaign, led by the Center for a Humane Economy. Following Diadora, Puma, Nike, New Balance, and British company Sokito in abandoning the use of kangaroo leather, the industry is turning away from a brutal trade associated with night hunts in which adult animals and orphaned joeys are killed. These policy shifts reflect a growing global consensus: animals should not suffer for fashion.
For years, kangaroos — Australia’s beloved national symbols — have been brutally slaughtered under the guise of sport and commerce. Every night, hundreds of thousands of kangaroos in the Australian outback, including mothers with young, are shot. Many die a slow, painful death, while surviving joeys are often clubbed or discarded. Their hides are then exported around the world, primarily to be made into high-end football boots and other leather goods.
The use of kangaroo leather, also known as “K-leather,” is particularly controversial. While manufacturers tout it as lightweight and durable, the cost to animal welfare is devastating and entirely unnecessary in the age of high-performance synthetics.
Adidas’s decision to abandon this cruel practice sends a clear message: fashion and sportswear companies can thrive without exploiting animals. It sets a powerful precedent, encouraging other brands that still profit from animal suffering to evolve alongside consumer ethics and modern innovation.
It is time for all fashion brands to rethink their supply chains and take responsibility. No bag, no shoe, no accessory is worth an animal’s life. The future of fashion must be compassionate, sustainable, and free from cruelty. Protecting animals such as kangaroos is not merely an ethical choice — it is a moral imperative.
