People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) is now a shareholder in Levi Strauss. The animal rights organization has snapped up the minimum number of shares required to submit shareholder resolutions and secure speaking rights at annual meetings.

As a first step, Peta will attempt to persuade Levi’s to drop leather patches made from cow skin and use vegan leather. Cow skin has at least three times the negative environmental impact that using most vegan leather does. Cows killed for leather often endure extreme crowding, electroshock prodding, frequent beatings and castration and tail-docking without pain relief. Animal agriculture, under which the leather industry falls, is responsible for 14 per cent to 18 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand vegan leather typically comprises petroleum-based synthetics such as polyvinyl chloride or polyurethane.

Levi’s says even though less than 10 per cent of the raw materials in its supply chain is from sources other than cotton, and a small fraction of that percentage is leather, the company strives to source all materials responsibly and that it ensures whenever materials derived from animals are used in its products, their health and welfare are protected, in line with international animal welfare standards.