Following discussions with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inditex, the Spanish operator of brands such as Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, and Bershka, has agreed to make its temporary ban on angora a permanent one. Inditex first suspended orders of angora in December 2013, after undercover footage obtained by PETA revealed horrifying scenes of rabbit abuse at farms across China. “Inditex will not place any further order with any supplier for products containing angora wool until each relevant facility has been previously inspected again and the findings reviewed, following the Inditex Audit protocol,” the company said in a statement at the time.
Now that Inditex will no longer sell angora, PETA reports that the firm is donating any leftover stock, including 20,000 brand-new angora garments with a retail value of roughly $878,000, to Syrian refugees in Lebanon through the nonprofit Life for Relief and Development.
“Thanks to Inditex’s massive donation, PETA is 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 Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of PETA. “We’re calling on all remaining retailers 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.”
Inditex joins more than 70 global brands and retailers, including ASOS, Calvin Klein, French Connection, Stella McCartney, and Tommy Hilfiger, in permanently axing angora following PETA’s exposé.
Source: Ecouterre
