The German Leather Federation (VDL) has issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter to a vegan start-up that sells handbags made out of ‘apple leather’. The vegan start-up, a German-based brand called NUUWAI, will attend a hearing at Hanover Regional Court tomorrow, with the Federation claiming the terms 'apple leather' and 'vegan leather', as used on NUUWAI's website, are 'misleading' and 'anti-competitive'.
The VDL’s cease and desist letter is the latest in a list of similar tangles between the meat and dairy industries in Europe and the US and vegan so-called ‘leather’ producers. The industry wants plant-based producers to stop using traditional animal food nomenclature for vegan items.
NUUWAI will appear at Hanover Regional Court for the hearing on 20 August where they will be supported by PETA Germany.
