Victory: Lacoste Stops Selling Angora
French Fashion Giant Pulls Angora Stock After PETA Campaign
For Immediate Release:
December 5, 2014
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
French clothing company Lacoste has just confirmed to PETA U.K. that it’s removing all angora wool products and has requested to be added to PETA’s list of retailers that don’t sell angora.
“As part of its [corporate social responsibility] policy, we can confirm that Lacoste has no plan to use angora fibers in its coming collections,” the company says in a statement.
“By committing to ending all angora sales and pulling this vile product from its international websites and shelves, Lacoste has done the right thing for animals and consumers,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Angora production is cruel, and PETA urges the few remaining retailers selling angora, including Benetton, to learn from Lacoste’s experience and show that cruelty to animals has no place in their stores.”
PETA U.K. has sent a box of vegan chocolates to the company’s headquarters in Troyes, France, to thank Lacoste for its compassionate decision.
PETA Asia’s unprecedented investigation shows that rabbits who have their fur cut or sheared suffer greatly during the cutting process. Their front and back legs are tightly tethered so that they can be stretched out over a board—a terrifying experience for any prey animal. Others are suspended in the air by their forelimbs. Rabbits have very thin skin, and the sharp cutting tools invariably wound them as they struggle desperately to escape. The angora farming industry also condemns these intelligent animals to spend years in isolation in small, filthy wire cages that cut into their sensitive paws and prevent them from carrying out normal behavior, exercising, and interacting with other rabbits. Regardless of whether the rabbits have been plucked or sheared, if a label says “angora,” it means that rabbits have suffered. There is no way to obtain angora responsibly, which is why so many companies have switched to humane, animal-free fabrics, which are readily available.
Broadcast-quality video footage is available here.
To view an updated list of retailers that no longer sell angora, please click here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
