Ann Taylor, Lou & Grey, Lane Bryant Ban Alpaca Fleece After PETA Appeal
For Immediate Release:
November 23, 2020
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
After a first-of-its-kind PETA exposé revealed that crying alpacas are roughly shorn, cut open, and left bleeding from deep wounds, Mahwah-based Ascena Retail Group has banned alpaca fleece across all its brands, including Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, Lane Bryant, and Cacique.
PETA’s investigation into the world’s largest privately owned alpaca farm in Peru, Mallkini, shows that workers slammed alpacas—some of whom were pregnant—onto tables, tied them tightly by the legs into a device reminiscent of a medieval torture rack, and pulled hard, nearly wrenching their legs out of their sockets. Terrified of being pinned down, the animals spit, cried out, and vomited in fear as workers grabbed them by the ears, roughly sheared them, and threw them to the concrete floor. Their bloody cuts were crudely stitched up with a needle and thread. In response, Peruvian authorities are investigating Mallkini for possible violations of the country’s animal protection laws.
“Every alpaca fleece sweater or scarf represents a vulnerable animal who cried out and bled on a shearing room floor,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Ascena Retail Group was right to ban alpaca fleece, and PETA is asking kind shoppers to do their part by keeping alpaca out of their closets.”
PETA has sent Ascena Retail Group—which previously banned mohair after another exposé by the organization—a box of delicious vegan chocolates in thanks for joining Valentino, UNIQLO, ESPRIT, and Columbia Sportswear in banning alpaca. PETA is calling on Anthropologie to follow suit.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. Photos from the investigation are available here, and broadcast-quality footage is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
