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Activists have pressured clothing brand Levi Strauss & Co. into ditching leather by bringing a giant inflatable bull to the company’s annual meeting.
Animal-rights protestors from vegan charity, PETA, also held signs reading ‘Levi’s: End Leather Cruelty’ during a demonstration outside the company’s headquarters in San Fransisco.
‘Beating, slaughtering, and skinning’
“No leather patch is worth beating, slaughtering, and skinning a sensitive cow,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.
“PETA is calling on Levi’s to live up to its claims of being a sustainable company by ditching leather in favor of eco- and animal-friendly vegan fabrics.”
PETA also commented on the environmental impacts of the leather industry, adding: “In addition, animal agriculture—which includes the leather industry—is responsible for 14 percent to 18 percent of all greenhouse-gas emissions.”
Shareholders
Earlier this year, PETA bought shares in Levi’s to be able to submit shareholder resolutions to the company and attend and speak at annual meetings.
The charity, which wants Levi’s to use an ‘innovative and durable vegan leather’ claims one of its representatives asked when the company intends to stop using animal leather on its patches during the annual meeting.
In a statement sent to Plant Based News, Levi & Strauss Co. said: “Less than ten percent of the raw materials in our supply chain are from sources other than cotton, and a small fraction of that percentage is leather. Nevertheless, Levi Strauss & Co. strives to source all materials responsibly.
“Our goal is to ensure that wherever materials derived from animals are used in our products, their health and welfare are protected, in line with international animal welfare standards.”
*This article was updated on July 10 after Levi & Strauss Co. responded to its right of reply
