PUMA to phase out use of kangaroo leather

The new K-BETTER material has been recently launched in the PUMA KING Supercharge edition.

Sporting goods producer PUMA has announced that it will stop producing football boots with kangaroo leather uppers by the end of this year. This decision has reportedly been taken because a synthetic upper material the company has developed is said to outperform the animal-based leather.

PUMA has stated that the new material – called ‘K-BETTER’ – has been found to be an improvement on kangaroo leather in tests for comfort, durability and touch. K-BETTER is said to contain at least 20 per cent of recycled material and is being incorporated into a new version of the company’s ‘KING’ football boot.

Measures to control the kangaroo population are in place in many parts of Australia because the animals are reported to pose a threat to agricultural crops. There is a significant demand for kangaroo meat in many markets and leather from the skins has long been popular in sports footwear because of its high tensile strength and light weight.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the March 2023 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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