Levi’s leather patches come under fire by new shareholder

New York. Levi Strauss & Co., fresh off its $623 million initial public offering, is already facing calls for change from one shareholder.

PETA, the animal-rights organisation, said it purchased the minimum number of shares needed to be able to submit shareholder resolutions and speak at Levi’s annual meetings.

PETA is targeting the cow skins that Levi’s uses to make the iconic brown patches that are sewn onto the backsides of its pants. The organisation is calling on Levi’s to use vegan leather patches, which don’t come from an animal.

“PETA is heading to Levi’s boardroom to urge the company to stop peddling these patches, which cause cows immense pain and suffering,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement.

This is a tactic that PETA has used before. In 2017, it planned to become one of Canada Goose’s first shareholders ahead of the coat company’s IPO. The organisation has called for the coatmaker to stop using fur and down.