Turkey has hit German sporting equipment giant Adidas with a fine of more than $15,000 for failing to inform customers that one of its flagship footwear models contained pigskin.
The Muslim-majority country’s advertising regulator slammed Adidas for describing its “Samba OG” trainers — sported in recent years by models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid — as made from “real leather”, without specifying it came from pigs.
In a ruling seen by AFP on Thursday, it said the use of materials “contrary to the religious sensibilities of the majority of society must be clearly mentioned” in advertisements and product descriptions.
The regulator fined the company 550,059 Turkish lira ($15,200).
Contacted by AFP, Adidas admitted it had “updated” the specification on its website, without commenting on the fine.
“Following an individual notification regarding a product description on our Turkish e-com website, we have updated the material specifications for the product accordingly,” it said in a brief statement.
In 2020, Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs ruled it was “not permissible to manufacture shoes or garments from pigskin or pigskin hair”.
“It is accepted by nearly all Muslim scholars that pigskin cannot be made pure by tanning or similar processes,” it said.