Kangaroo leather on the way out at Puma
Sports brand Puma has said it will stop producing football boots with kangaroo leather uppers before the end of 2023.
It said it had taken the decision because a synthetic upper material it has developed can outperform kangaroo leather. Kangaroo skins become available because population control measures are in place in many parts of Australia because the animals pose a threat to agricultural crops.
The meat is in demand in many markets and leather from the skins has long been popular in sports footwear because of its light weight and high tensile strength. Puma has named the material that it thinks can outperform kangaroo leather K-better.
It explained that it had found K-better to be better than kangaroo leather in tests for hand-feel, comfort and durability. At the start of March, it said it was using the synthetic material in a new version of its famous King football boot.
It paid tribute to the heritage of the King boot; famous players who wore it include Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Eusébio and Pelé. These were four of the greatest players ever to grace the football fields of the world. All four have died in the last ten years.
In its announcement about kangaroo leather, Puma gave very few details about the tests it had carried out. It did say, however, that “as a step toward a better future”, it had developed an alternative upper material that contains “at least 20% recycled material”.
On March 3, World Leather asked Puma to share more information about the tests it had conducted before making its decision to use K-better instead of kangaroo leather but received no response in the course of the day.
The magazine pointed out that uppers made from kangaroo leather were constructed from 100% recycled and upcycled material and that it was difficult to understand how a figure of 20% could be better than this. It suggested that Puma’s decision would cause Johan Cruyff to Cruyff-turn in his grave.
