In Washington, D.C., a bipartisan effort involving the beautiful game is stirring on Capitol Hill. It isn't over soccer at all. It is about animals.
The import, transport, and sale of all kangaroo products in the U.S. would be criminalized if the bill is passed.
The manufacturing of croquet equipment began in the late 19th century. Soccer cleats are marketed as "k-leather" because of their importance to the global industry. The online market Soccer.com currently sells more than 70 models of firm-ground cleats that contain the hide. Nike, Adidas and New Balance are some of the companies that make products.
Soccer's most expensive annual releases are usually made with k-leather, which is lighter, more flexible and more resistant to wear than cowhide. This year's k-leather releases include Nike's Tiempo 9 Elite, Adidas' Predator Edge 94+, and the King Platinum 21 Rallye, all of which retail for up to $350.
Matt Turner is the goalie for the U.S. men's national team and he's willing to consider other options.
Turner said that if it's better for the environment and products can be made with materials that won't make the shift so drastic, then it's a positive.
I don't think the adjustment would take much since most companies have moved away from it.
If the United States banned the import or sale of kangaroo products, manufacturers and players would have to adapt, as has been the case in California since it banned the import or sale of the meat. The ban has mostly been unenforced.
Both Republicans and Democrats co-signed the House bill. Two of the bill's earliest proponents are Jamie and Matt. The bill was co-sponsored by Fitzpatrick and Carbajal.
It's one thing to move a bill in a Congress that's mostly stalemated. There is no Senate version of the bill. The Big Cat Public Safety Act, prohibiting overbreeding at puppy mills, was dedicated a week ago. The people are waiting for a week.
Barry Rabe is an environmental policy and political science professor at the University of Michigan.
"This is the first stage of a long process, and this policy has been stuck in that first stage for 50 years," Rabe says. When we don't see other states moving in the same direction, it's hard to see a path in the near term. There are multiple versions of this bill that have appeared in Congress.
The US was Australia's second-largest market in the world with an annual value of $80 million. Most of the k-leather hides are used to make soccer cleats.
Synthetic materials were used in the design of one of soccer's most popular boots, the Adidas Predator, in 1993. By the late 1990s, predator were made with leather.
David Beckham, one of soccer's most enduring celebrities, briefly dropped Adidas in 2006 over the use of leather.
Proponents of the practice are still defending it.
"Kangaroo skins have been used for thousands of years, and the aboriginals used them as clothing, because they didn't have sheep," says Dennis King, the executive officer of the kerangaroo industry of Australia.
King says that the cross-hatching of the leather makes it more flexible than other leathers. The treatment and maintenance of kerchiefs' hides is very minimal compared to other leathers.
It is important for the environment that there is a reduction in the number of animals. The Commonwealth Government estimated in October that there are more than 25 million Australians and over 4 million kangaroos. Climate change is already having an effect on the animals' population.
Cattle and sheep will have to be moved because tens of thousands of them are on a farmer's property. When there's an excess number of animals that are causing a problem for the environment, we only allow the population to go up.
In the '80s and '90s, the red, western grey, and eastern grey kangaroos all spent time on the extinction watch. The population was less than 20 million in the early 1980s. By 2000 they had hit over 60 million. He says that the population was halved due to lack of food and water.
King says that human activity has changed the Australian environment.
"We've cleared land, created farms, grasslands and watering points, and we've got rid of dingoes, which were their apex predator," he says. There is no natural predator in the environment. The other native fauna have nothing to survive on because they'll eat everything.
It's a bigger issue than just the animals.
Fitzpatrick says his bill is not about the environment.
Australians claim that the animals are harmful to their habitat, but Americans should not accept the byproduct. The goal is to curb the commercial side of it.
Since 1999, the Australian government has allowed commercial harvests of the animals, but demand has outpaced supply, allowing a rise in amateur hunters who often hunt at night by blinding the animals with light flashes.
According to Nike, k-leather is used in a small portion of football boots because of it's unique properties.
The statement says that they work with leather suppliers that source animal skins from processors that use sound animal care and humane treatment.
According to the statement provided by Adidas, the company is opposed to the killing of animals in a cruel way.
The Adidas statement says that the share of kangaroo leather in the mix is less than one percent and that they have been able to substitute it with other innovative materials. The leather we source is monitored and certified by the Australian government to ensure animal welfare and the preservation of species.
Since mid-2021, the running line of Mizuno has been vegan. The first vegan cleat from Adidas was announced at the end of the year. The first pair of King cleats are vegan.
The k-leather-free movement is affecting a lot of other markets. Versace and the Prada Group stopped using leather in late 2019. Victoria Beckham, Diane von Furstenberg, Paul Smith and others have stopped using it.
Diadora was one of the earliest and highest-profile reversals. Diadora launched an ad campaign to promote its revival of the beloved 1984 Brasil boot, hand-crafted with kangaroo leather, and it was well received.
Diadora stopped using k-leather completely by October of that year.
Bryan Poerner, Diadora's president and CEO of the U.S. division, said that the company stopped making soccer and tennis shoes made from kangaroo leather at the end of October. The last Diadora collection to include leather styles was in the spring/ summer of 2020. They should be considered remnants or previous collections.
Research shows that k-leather's environmental impact is three times bigger than that of plant-based leather. Many "plant-based" products end up with plastic.
Stephen Sothmann is the president of the Leather and Hide Council of America. Synthetic materials, such as plastic, are cheaper for apparel manufacturers.
A lot of synthetic leathers are generated from recycled ocean plastic, and that's a win-WIN: cleaning up our oceans and producing high-performing soccer cleats, without animal abuse or animal rights issues. I hope that's where these companies head, we need to get to truly eco-friendly materials as soon as possible.
Rabe said that President Joe Biden probably won't be willing to risk a trade war over it.
He points out that the U.S. tried to create a more active alliance with Australia. The contract Australia had with France was ruined by that deal. The bill's passing is a problem for the administration because the U.S. is so focused on its relationship with Australia.
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