Victory! Genesco Bans Alpaca After PETA Appeal

For Immediate Release:
June 3, 2021

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

After PETA shared a first-of-its-kind exposé revealing that crying alpacas are roughly shorn, cut open, and left bleeding from deep wounds, footwear and accessories retailer Genesco has agreed to ban alpaca fleece from all its brands, which include Johnston & Murphy and Journeys. In thanks, PETA is sending the company a box of delicious vegan chocolates.

“Alpacas are prey animals who are terrified of being pinned down, making the crude shearing process even more traumatic for them,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “All of us at PETA are raising our glasses to Genesco for this decision, which recognizes alpacas as individuals, not accessories.”

PETA’s investigation shows that workers slammed alpacas—some of whom were pregnant—onto tables, tied them tightly by the legs to a rack, and pulled hard, nearly wrenching their legs out of their sockets. The terrified animals spit, cried out, and vomited in fear as workers grabbed them by the ears, roughly sheared them, crudely stitched up their bloody cuts with a needle and thread, and threw them to the concrete floor.

Genesco previously banned angora and mohair after PETA exposés of horrific cruelty and appeals. The company now joins Lands’ End, Williams Sonoma, UNIQLO, Esprit, Ann Taylor, LOFT, Columbia, and many other brands in banning alpaca—and PETA is calling on Anthropologie to follow suit.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. Photos from the investigation are available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.