Aritzia to Face Pressure From PETA at Shareholder Meeting Over Bogus Animal Welfare Standards

For Immediate Release:
June 27, 2023

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

At Aritzia’s annual meeting tomorrow, PETA—which owns stock in the company—will urge leadership to stop hiding behind empty claims about animal welfare and instead ban all animal-derived materials from its products. Investigations by PETA entities have revealed workers decapitating conscious geese with a dull axe, stomping on sheep and kicking them in the face, and ripping out screaming goats’ hair with sharp metal combs—proving that deceptive labels such as “responsible” down, wool, and cashmere do nothing to protect animals from abuse in these industries.

“There is nothing ‘responsible’ about mutilating animals without painkillers and violently killing them for their wool, feathers, or skin, despite Aritzia’s claims,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Aritzia to drop these meaningless labels and make the compassionate decision to get animal-derived materials off its store shelves.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s shareholder question follows.

My name is Sara, here with a question from PETA.

Aritzia says that its animal-based materials should be sourced according to “the highest animal welfare standards.” Yet the standards it touts have been repeatedly exposed for failing to protect animals and misleading compassionate customers.

Investigations that took place on farms and at slaughterhouses linked to disingenuously named “responsible” suppliers have revealed egregious cruelty to animals, including geese shrieking as their necks were repeatedly hacked at before the birds were decapitated and workers kneeling on struggling lambs as they sawed through the animals’ necks, causing them to vomit as they died.

More exposés by PETA entities worldwide revealed conscious cows in the leather industry moving after their throats were cut, alpacas used for their wool screaming as they were hit and kicked and their legs were nearly wrenched out of their sockets, and goats in the cashmere and mohair industries being bludgeoned over the head with hammers or slowly bleeding out.

When PETA exposes cruelty, industry groups—including Textile Exchange—respond by creating sham standards that do nothing to stop animal suffering.

The global vegan women’s fashion market is forecast to reach over $1 trillion by 2027. Members of Gen Z—Aritzia’s main consumer demographic—make up 23% of the global population, and their spending power is valued at $600 billion. They are conscientious consumers, want fashion that does more than simply look good, and are quick to turn their backs on companies that fund animal abuse.

My question is this: When will Aritzia align its actions with its animal welfare claims and stop selling animal-derived materials?