Adidas Fined More Than $15,000 in Turkey for Not Revealing Pigskin Used in Shoes

Turkey fined German sportswear company Adidas more than $15,000 after it turned out that one of its popular shoes sold was made of pigskin. The shoes, titled “Samba OG,” were marketed as containing “real leather,” but Adidas failed to reveal that the leather was pig skin.

Turkey’s advertising watchdog stated that the firm must clearly describe when a product includes materials which are opposite of most people in the country. Here, since most people in Turkey follow Islam and pigskin cannot be applied according to Islamic practices, the exclusion was seen as deceptive.

Adidas was fined 550,059 lira, or about $15,200, for not listing this important information in their product description. Adidas has not yet responded to the fine.