Nike is the latest athletic shoe brand to ditch the use of kangaroo leather – Sourcing Journal

Nike will soon provide an update for its Tiempo football boot franchise. With the new release, the sports giant will introduce a proprietary material that will allow the company to move away from using kangaroo leather.

“This summer, Nike will introduce a new shoe innovation in its Tiempo line. The Tiempo Legend Elite will debut with a new synthetic upper developed only by Nike. The upper has a new material that represents a better performance solution, replacing the use of kangaroo leather. Furthermore, the Tiempo Premier, which is also set to be launched this summer, will refrain from using kangaroo leather,” Nike said in a statement emailed to FN.

The statement continued, “Nike divested its only kangaroo leather supplier in 2021 and will cease making products with kangaroo leather in 2023.”

Nike’s announcement that it is phasing out kangaroo leather follows the heels of another major athlete, Puma, who announced that it would also soon be phasing out kangaroo leather.

Earlier this month, Puma announced that the next version of its top-of-the-line football boot King will feature K-Better, a material the brand described as “an all-new, non-animal upper” made from at least 20 percent recycled content.

Puma said in a statement on March 2 that this new material has outperformed the previous King K-Leather in tests for touch, comfort and durability and due to the material’s performance it will end the production of kangaroo-leather boots altogether in 2023. More so, Puma explained that the new King will also be available in a tailored women-specific fit for female athletes, such as volume and instep height designed for a woman’s foot.