Get a Kick out of This! PETA Pitches Anti-Leather Display for World’s Largest Cowboy Boots

For Immediate Release:
September 30, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Ahead of the holiday shopping season, PETA sent a letter today to North Star Mall Senior General Manager Brenda Crawford with an unbootable offer—a banner to place next to the “world’s largest cowboy boots” urging passersby to kick leather to the curb.

The group points out that cows, ostriches, and other animals used for leather are subjected to extreme cruelty and a terrifying death and that all vegan leathers—whether synthetic or plant-based—have a lower impact on climate change and contribute far less to water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than cow-derived leather.

“Cows and ostriches are smart, social animals who love their families and don’t want to be carved up for a pair of boots,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages everyone to give leather the boot and switch to animal- and planet-friendly vegan materials.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Crawford follows.

September 30, 2024

Brenda Crawford

Senior General Manager

North Star Mall

Dear Ms. Crawford:

Howdy! On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally, including hundreds of thousands in Texas—I’m writing with a suggestion that might just make you kick up your heels: PETA would love to display our eye-catching “Give Animal Leather the Boot” banner next to the North Star Mall’s boot sculpture. These boots are made for talking,and it’s high time people discuss today’s alternatives to the cruel and environmentally destructive leather industry. Let me explain:

The boots’ bumpy texture mimics the skin of ostriches, intelligent birds who co-parent and have been seen fanning each other on hot days. PETA’s investigation revealed that ostriches killed for their skin are roughly handled, scared, and prodded into stun boxes—causing many to slip and fall—before their throats are slit. The terrified birds next in line watch as their friends and family members are killed, the lives precious to them taken for a pair of boots.

Many of us grew up liking items made from animal leather, but we definitely don’t need them. Other animals exploited for their skin also suffer greatly. PETA has released investigative footage showing workers burning cows with hot irons, beating them, electroshocking them, hitting them in the face, and bashing them in the head with sledgehammers before their outsides were turned into leather goods like footwear. Sheep, horses, goats, pigs, and even cats or dogs (think imports from China) are also victims of this old industry—not to mention the increased risk of testicular and other types of cancer in people who work in tanneries and even downstream from tannery effluent.

Leather production harms the planet, too, of course. According to the Higg Materials Sustainability Index, leather made from cow’s skin contributes more to water pollution, water depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions than any synthetic—let alone plant-based—vegan leather, like that now made of apple, cactus, and other vegetable matter. Cow leather, for instance, has nearly 10 times the negative environmental impact of Piñatex, a plant-based leather made from pineapple leaves.

Please allow us the opportunity to spread this message of compassion and appeal to give cruelty the boot. I look forward to your consideration and to hearing back from you.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid Newkirk

President