PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Protesters gathered outside a Nike store in downtown Portland Saturday as part of a “Global Day of Action” in a campaign to draw attention to the use of kangaroo leather in soccer cleats.
In 2020, the Center for a Humane Economy launched the “Kangaroos Are Not Shoes” campaign, their effort to get Nike to stop using kangaroo leather.
On Saturday, people gathered outside Nike facilities and stores in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Victoria in Australia, the Center for a Humane Economy’s Natasha Dolezal said in a statement to KOIN 6 News. Protesters also showed up in New York City as well as Portland.
“While our Portland turnout was the smallest of the cities, we know it will continue to grow as Portlanders won’t tolerate this type of cruelty from a home-grown company,” Dolezal said.
She also said Nike is “contributing to localized extinction of kangaroos and compounding the effects of climate change already wreaking havoc on wildlife in Australia.”
The Washington Post reported in 2021 that “Australia exports about $60 million worth of kangaroo products each year to the United States, according to industry figures, the second-largest international market after the European Union.”
Two US lawmakers introduced legislation to ban the kangaroo trade in the US, but it has not passed.
KOIN 6 News reached out to Nike for comment on this issue but at this time has not heard back.