Morrissey is scheduled to perform at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Detroit tomorrow night and, in advance of the show, he’s penned a letter to Mary T Barra, the CEO and chairman of General Motors (who, of course, have their headquarters in the car manufacturing city) urging them to offer vegan leather options for the interiors of their Chevy Bolt and Volt vehicle models. “Given that the Volt and Bolt are being marketed to eco-conscious buyers, entirely vegan options would only broaden their appeal,” he writes in the letter, which was obtained by the Detroit Metro Times. Read the full letter below.

Mary T Barra
Chair and CEO
General Motors Company

21 November 2016

Dear Ms Barra,

As I head to Detroit to play the Royal Oak Music Theatre, I’m writing to ask GM to make Chevy’s Volt and Bolt more eco-friendly by giving buyers the option to choose vegan leather interiors – including steering wheels and gear shifts. GM is named in PETA’s brand-new investigation of cattle ranches, on which animals are branded on the face, electro-shocked, and beaten before they’re slaughtered and used to make leather interiors for car companies, including yours.

More and more people are opting for vegan leather for the sake of both cows and the environment. A staggering 51 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture. Animal skins also have to be treated with a toxic soup of chemicals in order to keep them from decomposing, and runoff from leather tanneries poisons vital waterways.

Given that the Volt and Bolt are being marketed to eco-conscious buyers, entirely vegan options would only broaden their appeal. I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,

Morrissey