PETA Shares 6 Ways to Get Urban Outfitters to Stop Exploiting Animals
Every year, billions of animals are abused and killed to make clothing and accessories. And Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People—all owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc.—contribute to this suffering by continuing to sell wool, cashmere, mohair, leather, down, silk, and alpaca fleece, which are always products of extreme violence, cruelty, and fear.
Cows are forced to live in extremely crowded conditions, branded with red-hot irons, and skinned—sometimes alive—for leather. Shearers have been seen punching sheep in the face, throwing and dragging them, and stomping on them for wool, and farmers eventually kill them by slashing their throats. Workers hit, kicked, tied down, and mutilated crying alpacas for their fleece. Cashmere goats scream in pain as workers tear out their hair, and angora goats used for mohair have been lifted by the tail and thrown—their throats are slashed when they’re no longer considered useful. Workers violently restrain birds and tear out their feathers by the fistful for down. And silkworms, who respond to pain, are often boiled alive for silk. It takes around 5,000 silkworms to make one silk kimono.
Urban Outfitters brands sell items that condemn defenseless animals to a lifetime of suffering. We need to make it crystal clear that they have no business selling animal-derived materials, especially when there are countless stylish and functional vegan materials available—which they already sell. Please take the following actions to tell Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Anthropologie to commit to selling only vegan materials, which don’t harm animals or destroy the planet!
Urge Urban Outfitters brands to stop exploiting animals for clothing and other items:
1. Organize a protest with free supplies from PETA.
Alert your friends, family, and social networks to join you outside a mall or an Urban Outfitters brand store. Hold posters, wear our masks, hand out leaflets, and use our peel-off stickers that say “Closed for Cruelty” on store windows. Make sure you obtain a permit if necessary (you can do so by phoning local authorities) and review the key steps to holding a successful demo. We can help, including by alerting other PETA supporters in the area.
2. Print these hanger tags and take them with you to Urban Outfitters brand stores.
Print and cut these hanger tags out, then put them on hangers holding animal-derived clothing at Urban Outfitters brand stores to let shoppers know that garments, accessories, and home goods containing these materials cause horrific suffering and should be obsolete. Use the hanger tag that corresponds with the animal-derived material that an item is made of. For example, if a sweater contains wool, use the hanger tag that explains how the wool industry hurts sheep. Share your photos on Instagram, tagging @peta and #TheFaceOfFashionIsFear.
3. Pass out leaflets in front of an Urban Outfitters brand store.
Leafleting outside these stores can have a huge impact on both shoppers and the company. Let us know how many leaflets you need along with your full name and mailing address. Feel free to use some of these talking points during your outreach:
- Cows are forced to live in extremely crowded conditions, branded with red-hot irons, and skinned—sometimes alive—for leather.
- Shearers have been seen punching sheep in the face, throwing and dragging them, and stomping on them for wool.
- Workers hit, kicked, tied down, and mutilated crying alpacas for their fleece.
- Cashmere and angora goats’ throats are slashed when they’re no longer considered useful.
- Workers violently restrain birds and tear out their feathers by the fistful for down.
- Silkworms, who respond to pain, are often boiled alive for silk. It takes around 5,000 silkworms to make one silk kimono.
See our tips for easy and effective leafleting.
4. Call and talk to managers and other employees in the stores.
You can either ask for a manager or just start speaking to whoever picks up the phone. Tell them your name, and say that you’re calling from the area so they know you’re local. Feel free to use the following script:
PETA has released dozens of investigative videos revealing that gentle sheep and alpacas are hit, kicked, restrained, and mutilated for their wool inside shearing sheds; sensitive goats are pinned down and roughly shorn on farms for mohair, leaving them cut open and bleeding, or their hair is ripped out with sharp metal combs for cashmere; and cows are burned, electroshocked, beaten, and slaughtered for leather. Whenever animals are part of a supply chain, their welfare takes a backseat to the bottom line. When will you stop supporting cruelty? Please cut animal-derived materials from your product line and sell only vegan clothing.
After you call your local stores, call the corporate headquarters of Urban Outfitters, Inc., at 215-454-5500 (then press 0) and ask to leave a message for CEO Richard Hayne. Ask that the company stop supporting the exploitation of animals for their wool, skin, feathers, fleece, and hair.
5. Text URBAN to 73822.
Using your mobile phone, text* URBAN to 73822 to send a message to Urban Outfitters, Inc., asking it to reflect on all the deeply disturbing ways in which animals are violated for fashion and urging it to stop selling products that condemn sensitive beings to a miserable life and a violent death.
*Terms for automated texts/calls from PETA: http://peta.vg/txt. Text STOP to end, HELP for more info. Msg/data rates may apply. U.S. only.
6. Comment on Urban Outfitters brands’ photos on Instagram.
Comment on their photos, asking them to have a heart and stop profiting from the torture and violent slaughter of animals—and to make a full switch to vegan materials immediately so that not one more animal will have to suffer for their products.
Choose the actions that work best for you, and get started today! A lot of us need to get loud if we want our campaign to get noticed, so we need all hands on deck. Informing the public while demanding change from the company is the best way to make a difference for these animals.
