bebe Nabs an ‘A’ Grade for Vegan-Friendliness, Courtesy of Pamela Anderson

PETA Honorary Director Recognizes Retailer’s Impressive Vegan Apparel Selections and Policies Against Fur, Angora, and Exotic Skins

For Immediate Release:
June 14, 2016

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

For the first time, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—has teamed up with longtime animal advocate and fashion entrepreneur Pamela Anderson to assess the vegan-friendliness of dozens of major retailers and clothing brands across the U.S., grading each one based on its selection of vegan materials, policies on working with animal-derived materials, and efforts to develop cruelty-free fabric technology.

The resulting letter-style grades run the full gamut from A to F, and one of the top-rated retailers is San Francisco–based bebe, which banned fur, angora wool, and exotic skins last year and offers numerous vegan leather options. The complete rankings are available on PETA’s website.

“If you’re still wearing animals, it’s time for a makeover,” says PETA Honorary Director Pamela Anderson, who can be seen on PETA’s homepage modeling a vegan leather jacket by Zara. “PETA’s ranking of vegan-friendly retailers can help you clean the skeletons out of your closet.”

Retailers that earned an A include bebe and Stella McCartney. And H&M, Zara, Abercrombie + Fitch, and Ann Taylor are close behind, with each receiving an A-. Retailers that earned Bs include The North Face—whose ThermoBall technology, which uses Primaloft synthetic fiber, is innovating cruelty-free insulation—and Free People, which banned fur and angora wool and launched an exclusive vegan leather collection.

Aldo and Journeys each earned a C for offering numerous leather-free shoes—if not in-store, then online—while J.Crew’s meager vegan options narrowly landed it a D-. UGG joins Burberry and Michael Kors at the bottom of the list with an F for its fur, leather, and exotic-skin merchandise.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.