How the iPhone 15 May Be the Most Animal-Friendly Phone on Earth
The most exciting news from Apple’s latest event isn’t the new iPhone 15—it’s that the tech company has made the compassionate choice to stop selling leather accessories. The announcement comes after PETA asked the company to stop selling products made of animal skin.
Cows killed for leather are torn away from their families, often kept in filthy pens, and crammed into trucks to be transported for miles through all kinds of weather extremes. Their short lives end when slaughterhouse workers slit their throats and hack them apart, often while they’re still conscious. The industry views cows as objects, not as the individuals they are, who simply want to live full lives alongside their family and friends.
Apple’s announcement is part of the company’s initiatives to become carbon neutral by 2030. Since the leather industry is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes water supplies, dropping the material should be a natural part of any company’s sustainability plans.
To replace leather from cows in some of its watchbands and iPhone cases, Apple has introduced the new FineWoven material, which achieves a similar look without harming animals. Innovative vegan materials like this are here to stay, since they’re better for animals and the environment.
Apple also has a collaboration with Hermès, a brand that sells items made of the skin of crocodiles and alligators. The latest announcement means that Hermès will no longer sell Apple watchbands made of leather—a move that should push the brand toward a leather-free future. Urge the company to take the first step by banning exotic skins:
