DANGEROUS LEATHER

In the face of the global alert regarding the escalating warlike rhetoric of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the world's largest animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has surrounded the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan with a new campaign called "PETA: "DICTATOR’S DANGEROUS LEATHER" denouncing another way in which the notorious autocrats cause suffering and devastation in the world: by wearing leather obtained from the slaughter of millions of animals and from the planet. PETA's call urges the public to avoid resembling Putin or Kim in any way, by refraining from purchasing leather items produced violently.

"Everyone can choose non-violence and good over evil by rejecting the leather industry, which causes climate catastrophe, kills millions of cows, and even increases cancer rates among tannery workers," says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. "Let's dress for peace for all living beings, choosing vegan materials that also protect our planet."

Livestock, which includes the leather industry, a significant part of the profit margins of meat and dairy, is responsible for almost a fifth of all man-induced greenhouse gas emissions. The World Bank reports that livestock has caused more than 80% of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest since 1970, and due to fires (many of which are deliberately started to clear land for raising cows and crops to feed them), along with higher temperatures and droughts, parts of the Amazon are emitting more carbon dioxide than it can absorb.

Additionally, turning skin into leather requires a large amount of energy and dangerous chemicals, such as formaldehyde, coal tar derivatives, and oils, dyes, and finishes based on cyanide. Sustainable vegan leather made from apples, cork, corn, grapes, mushrooms, paper, pineapples, soybeans, or tea mimics the properties of leather without cruelty to animals or environmental devastation.

PETA also displays the campaign outside the Russian embassy in Washington, DC. In London, England, and in the Asian continent. This guerrilla marketing campaign "DICTATOR’S DANGEROUS LEATHER" is a collaboration with the creative agency Archer Troy.

PETA, whose motto states, in part, that "animals are not ours to use," opposes speciesism and a human supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA's news gathering and investigative reporting, visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.