UK-based football boot brand Sokito has announced that it will stop using kangaroo leather due to increasing ethical concerns about the material.
In a statement, Sokito explains that the material was once thought to be a sustainable byproduct of kangaroos killed to keep the population in check, but figures now show that the kangaroo population is declining rapidly. This indicates that they are being killed for profit rather than just population control.
“There are alternative materials on the market today that can perform just as well as animal leather”
Furthermore, the killing of kangaroos is not monitored and is often done unethically, with joeys sometimes killed alongside their mothers or left to starve when their mothers are killed. It is also believed that the number of kangaroos in the wild has been inflated, meaning the population is much lower than official figures suggest.
As a result, Sokito now believes that kangaroo leather is neither ethical nor a byproduct. The brand has announced that its original Devista boot will be the last to be made with kangaroo leather or other animal byproducts, and will not come back into stock once it sells out. With the announcement, Sokito joins Nike and Puma, which both pledged to stop using kangaroo leather last year.
Vegan football boots
Sokito previously launched a vegan football boot, the Devista Vegan, in 2023. It is made from a leather alternative containing recycled nylon, with a lining and insole containing recycled materials and a soleplate made from castor beans. The boot was the second vegan-certified football boot in the world, and the first to be certified by the Vegan Society.
The brand is also preparing to launch another vegan boot, the Scudetta, this summer. The boot is lightweight and bio-based, featuring materials such as corn waste, sugarcane, bamboo, castor beans, and tencel wood fibres.
“The time is right. We have successfully developed a vegan-certified football boot, so we know that there are alternative materials on the market today that can perform just as well as animal leather,” said Sokito founder Jake Hardy.
“Sokito did its homework, researching Australia’s kangaroo industry and uncovering the truth,” said Louise Ward of Australia’s Animal Justice Party. “Declining numbers, lack of government regulation, and cruelty. We thank them for taking action by announcing they would no longer use kangaroo skin in their football boots. The commercialisation of native wildlife has never been and will never be sustainable.”
