Big Victory for Birds! H&M Bans All New Down Following Push From PETA

For Immediate Release:
October 4, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

H&M—the second-largest clothing retailer in the world—confirmed to PETA that it has committed to no longer sourcing new down for any of its brands worldwide, a move that will spare ducks and geese the misery of being plucked and a painful and frightening death. The announcement comes after a campaign that included appeals from PETA, an appeal from Joaquin Phoenix, demonstrations at H&M stores around the world, shareholder resolutions, and letters from more than 150,000 PETA entity supporters.

In a move toward eradicating the use of all down—no matter the source—H&M is transitioning to sourcing only synthetic or post-consumer recycled down for its jackets and home goods by the end of 2025 or sooner as the process takes flight.

Credit: Pixabay

“H&M’s decision is a lifesaving win for ducks and geese and a major first step toward a fabulous animal-free future,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is celebrating the excellent example of action by H&M and urges retailers everywhere to follow its lead and stop bankrolling the cruel down industry.”

In the down industry, highly sensitive, social, and family-oriented ducks and geese are forced to spend their entire lives in filthy sheds and on barren, feces-filled lots. At slaughterhouses, many of the birds are inadequately stunned before their throats are cut, so they’re often still conscious when they’re dumped into scalding-hot defeathering tanks.

Prior to the campaign’s start, PETA collaborated with H&M to create the Co-exist Story, which featured FLWRDWN—a vegan down made from wildflowers. The collection included other sustainably sourced materials like VEGEA, a leather made from grape skins, and ECONYL, a regenerated nylon created from waste, such as fishing nets and fabric scraps.

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 the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.