Singer Morrissey demands GM stop offering leather seats

DETROIT -- British singer-songwriter Morrissey is asking General Motors to replace leather seats and interiors with imitation leather on the seats, steering wheels and gear shifters of Chevrolet Volt and Bolt models.

The request is part of broader campaign the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has directed at all automakers. Apparently this letter's release was timed to coincide with Morrissey's concert this week in Detroit, which was rescheduled due to band member's illness. Morrissey is former frontman for the band The Smiths.

In a letter to GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, the 57-year-old Morrissey said, "GM is named in (PETA) 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% of 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."

Earlier this year, PETA claimed that Tesla Motors responded to a similar campaign by offering vegan leather as an interior option on the Tesla Model X SUV, but the Palo Alto, Calif., electric vehicles maker said it had already offered a faux leather interior package on both the Models S and X.

A GM spokesman declined to comment on Morrissey's missive.

Leather seats and steering wheels are available on the Premier packages for both the Volt, an extended range electric, and the Bolt, a pure battery-electric car that goes on sale next month in California and Oregon.

The animal rights group is targeting Brazil-based JBS Leather, which supplies a range of automakers.

Last month, JBS said it published an independent audit of its environmental practices that complied with something called the Public Livestock Commitment, which the group Greenpeace is asking leather manufacturers to accept.

"The company will not purchase raw materials from farms in areas involved in deforestation or subject to environmental embargo, that use labor analogous to slavery or are based on indigenous land or in environmental protection areas," JBS said on its website.