Tell Title Nine to Stop Supporting the Cruel Down Industry and Destroying the Planet
Title Nine claims to care about equality and sustainability, yet it continues to sell products filled with down, which is always a product of pain, exploitation, and violence. Title Nine continues to hide behind the meaningless Responsible Down Standard (RDS), despite a new PETA Asia investigation exposing cruelty to birds at RDS suppliers.
At a slaughterhouse that supplies down for Vina Prauden—a Vietnamese “responsible down”–certified supplier—PETA Asia investigators saw a worker violently grabbing ducks and forcing their legs into shackles before dragging them through an electrified water bath meant to paralyze them but not render them unconscious, as is required by the standard. Then a worker slit the birds’ throats while they were still conscious, and ducks were seen moving for at least a minute afterward. Some of these still-conscious birds’ feet were cut off while they writhed in agony on the ground. The slaughterhouse owner told investigators that her employees never check for signs of consciousness before stabbing ducks in the neck to kill them.
This is the ninth exposé of the down industry that PETA entities have released, and it’s the eighth time pervasive, egregious cruelty has been uncovered. The RDS is a veil of false assurances about animal welfare that do little or nothing to protect the animals who continue to be exploited and killed for profit.
Ducks are highly social animals who thrive when they’re with their families and friends. Scientists have reported that ducks even have regional accents, just like humans. Geese are loyal and protective, mate for life, and refuse to leave the side of a sick or injured mate or chick. When a goose’s mate dies, the survivor mourns in seclusion—some spend the rest of their lives as widows or widowers, refusing to mate again.
Every down-filled jacket, vest, and skirt that Title Nine sells is the result of almost unimaginable pain and suffering that down industry workers inflict on gentle birds.
No one needs to buy down clothing when various high-performance vegan materials, many of which are already sold by Title Nine, are widely available.
The best way to protect ducks and geese from this heinous cruelty is to avoid buying down. Please contact Title Nine and ask that it stand by its commitment to equality and sustainability by ending its sale of down products.
Missy Park
CEO, Title Nine
[email protected]
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