“Are you wearing my mom?” Robot Calf to Confront Leather-Clad Shoppers on Black Friday
For Immediate Release:
November 27, 2024
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
On the busiest shopping day of the year, downtown holiday crowds will be met with a surprising sight—a lifelike robot calf named Charli XC Cow, who will hoof it to leather-clad shoppers outside Free People and other stores to ask, “Are you wearing my mother?” and share how cows suffer mutilations and violent killings in the leather industry. But she’s no bully—the “calf” will also make time for fun, breaking into a celebratory dance whenever someone proclaims they are actually wearing shoes, clothing, or accessories made of vegan leather.
Following Charli’s appearance, a cadre of PETA supporters will converge on the Antioch Coach outlet just a few miles away to condemn the brand’s continued sale of animal and planet-killing leather and urge shoppers to choose fashionable and cruelty-free vegan options.
The actions are part of PETA’s inaugural Free the Animals Friday, a nationwide Black Friday initiative that seeks to call attention to the suffering of billions of animals slaughtered every year for leather and other animal-derived clothing and inspire holiday shoppers to choose compassionate vegan options.
“Every leather jacket and bag is stitched with the misery of a thinking, feeling being who died in agony,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on holiday shoppers to be kind to cows and keep cruelty off their gift list by refusing to buy leather.”
Where: Outside Free People, 5016 Broadway Place, Nashville. Please see the Google Maps link here.
When: Friday, November 29, 12 noon
Where: Outside Coach, 4060 Cane Ridge Pkwy., Building 3, Ste. 325, Antioch. Please see the Google Maps link here.
When: Friday, November 29, 3:30 p.m.
Why: Cows have friends, hold grudges against other cows, and mourn when a loved one dies or when they’re separated from each other. A PETA exposé of the world’s largest leather processor—which has supplied Coach—showed that workers brand calves on the face, beat cows and bulls, and shock them with electric prods. The leather industry also contributes to the climate catastrophe, land devastation, deforestation, pollution, water contamination, and loss of biodiversity.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
