Following discussions with PETA US, as well as a groundbreaking exposé recently that revealed live rabbits‘ fur is ripped out of their skin on angora farms, the world‘s largest clothing retailer, Inditex, has agreed to put a permanent ban on angora wool. In an unprecedented move, the Spanish multinational clothing company, which owns brands Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka, will also donate 20,000 brand-new angora wool garments manufactured in previous seasons (with a retail value of approximately £577,000) to Syrian refugees in Lebanon through the charity Life for Relief and Development, rather than profiting from the garments.
“Thanks to Inditex‘s massive donation, PETA are able to send a vital message about compassion for animals this winter – that only people desperately lacking basic necessities have any excuse for wearing fur that is ripped out of live animals‘ bodies”, says PETA Managing Director Ingrid E Newkirk. “We‘re calling on all remaining retailers – such as Benetton – that are still touting these products of rabbit torture to follow quickly in the footsteps of Inditex and others, or else they‘ll watch their customers, wallet in hand, walk out the door.”
“Thanks to PETA [US] and Inditex – this generous donation goes a long way to help ease the suffering of the refugees who have lost so much”, says Life for Relief and Development‘s chief operating officer, Mohammed Alomari.
As revealed by PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”, in their exposé of a PETA Asia investigation, some rabbits used for angora scream in pain as their fur is ripped out, while others are cut or sheared and invariably wounded by the sharp tools as they struggle desperately to escape. In addition, the angora farming industry condemns these intelligent, social animals to years of isolation in small, unclean wire cages.
Inditex joins more than 70 top brands and retailers, including ASOS, Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney and Tommy Hilfiger, who have permanently banned angora wool as a result of PETA Asia‘s investigation.
