Shocking undercover footage of alleged rabbit abuse in China may have prompted several of the world’s biggest apparel brands and retailers to declare a moratorium on sourcing angora products, but at least one bold-face name is still holding out. Despite a growing roster that includes ASOS, Boden, Calvin Klein, Esprit, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Primark, Topshop, and Stella McCartney, Zara, by far the largest of them all, remains deafeningly silent. More than 271,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Spanish brand to drop the fiber. At the same time, scores of consumers have been taking to Facebook to condemn its inaction.
Zara, which is operated by garment juggernaut Inditex, still has more than 60 angora items for sale on its website, according to SumOfUs, the advocacy group behind the signature drive.
“Workers in China were secretly filmed by [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] plucking angora rabbits of all their long, soft fur while they scream,” reads the petition. “Plucking a rabbit without causing harm takes up to two weeks of gently removing the loosened hair, but here it takes only a few, violent minutes. After this tortuous experience, which the rabbits endure every three months, many of them appeared to go into shock, lying motionless inside their tiny, filthy cages.”
Ninety percent of angora fur comes from China, where there are zero penalties for animal abuse on farms, according to PETA. “When you buy a sweater, hat, or other product that contains angora, the angora fur most likely originated in China, even if the finished product was assembled elsewhere,” the animal-rights organization says.
WARNING: The below video is of a graphic nature.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/PtAFHyXS31M” title=”ban%20on%20angora”]Via Ecouterre
