‘Roo Sneakers not Posh for Becks

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by stefani July 26, 2007
Categories: Sports.

We love strange eco-friendly stories, especially when tied to recent LA-transplants Posh and Becks (that’s Victoria and David Beckham to you newbies). As Beckham begins his legendary career with soccer team LA Galaxy, it’s the issue of his shoes that’s grabbing attention. According to NPR’s All Things Considered, kangaroo leather-based soccer shoes are the most popular kind among soccer players due to their “softness and durability”; they are also illegal to buy and sell in California, according to a recent California Supreme Court ruling.

That being said, most soccer players either don’t know or don’t care about the ban. Posh, however, is a vegetarian, and since learning about the cruelty to ‘roos to make the cleats, Beckham supports his wife (and the ‘roos) by wearing a special synthetic version created just for him.  Hmm, I wonder if Posh’s many Birkin bags come in a synthetic version, too?

Thanks to Linton for the tip!

  • Andrea

    Good for Posh! Learn more about the cruelty and recklessness behind Australia’s kangaroo slaughtering at http://www.savethekangaroo.com

    “In some areas kangaroo populations may build up in order to withstand the regular droughts which can wipe out half the population. The kangaroo massacre destroys the process of natural selection as the largest and fittest animals, the ‘alpha’ males, are targeted. These animals are the ones who, ordinarily, would be the most likely to survive a drought. As they have been repeatedly picked off, the kangaroos who are left to breed are smaller and younger animals, causing the gene pool to be weakened. According to Dr Ian Gunn of the Animal Gene Storage Resource Centre of Australia, “…the continued slaughter of kangaroos has the potential to cause the extinction of a number of remaining species”.

    Six species of kangaroo are already extinct, with four more species extinct on the Australian mainland and 17 species listed as endangered or vulnerable. Red kangaroos are particulary at risk. They are now being killed at a rate three times higher than they are reproducing. In the 1960s their average age was 12, today it is two.”

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