And the peta2 Libby Award for “Most Vegan-Friendly Shoe Company 2017” goes to… Birkenstock!
The Libby Awards are sponsored by peta2, the youth organization of PETA USA, the world’s largest animal rights organization with more than 6.5 million supporters worldwide. The awards honor companies and people for their exemplary behavior. Germany’s largest shoe manufacturer was recognized for producing fashion without animal products.
“We are delighted to receive this award because it comes from the people we make our products for–our customers,” states Oliver Reicher, CEO, Birkenstock. “Especially among younger customers, there is a growing percentage who choose the vegan way of life. We offer many vegan products for these customers. The peta2 Libby Award motivates us to continue on this path.” Reichert adds that the collection shows vegan fashion can be “animal friendly and also stylish and trendy.” Currently, one-fifth of Birkenstock sandals are made without animal components and the percentage of cork sandals within the vegan collection has more than doubled three years in a row.
“We are thrilled to award Birkenstock with the peta2 Libby Award for Most Vegan-Friendly Shoe Company,” says Anne Brainard, director of corporate affairs at PETA. “As everyday consumers learn more about the importance of wearing vegan, Birkenstock continues to add more animal-friendly options to its collection, making it easy to have fun with our wardrobes while taking steps toward a kinder world for all beings.”
The idea behind the Libby Awards (short for liberation) is to motivate manufacturers of food and clothing to take a stand for the vegan lifestyle and thus also strengthen animal rights. Eating solely plant-based foods is becoming increasingly widespread, especially among young people. With it, the demand for fashion without any animal components is also growing. In fact, record numbers of young people worldwide—more than doubled compared with last year—voted online.
