Williams-Sonoma Bans Alpaca Fleece After PETA Appeal

For Immediate Release:
May 17, 2021

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

After PETA shared its alpaca fleece exposé—which reveals that crying alpacas were roughly shorn, cut open, and left bleeding from deep wounds for wool—with Williams-Sonoma, the home furnishing giant has stopped sourcing alpaca fleece across all its brands, which include Pottery Barn, west elm, Mark and Graham, and Rejuvenation. In thanks, PETA is sending the retailer a box of delicious vegan chocolates.

“Alpacas shouldn’t be tossed around and tied down to make blankets,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Drab decor made from the fleece of struggling alpacas is out—and Williams-Sonoma’s decision to ban it will help PETA move this industry in a kinder direction.”

PETA’s investigation of the world’s largest privately owned alpaca farm in Peru, Mallkini, shows that workers slammed alpacas—some of whom were pregnant—onto tables, tied them to a stretching device, and pulled hard, nearly wrenching their legs out of their sockets. In addition to this abuse, alpaca fleece production harms the planet: The Higg Materials Sustainability Index ranks alpaca fleece as the second most environmentally damaging material.

Williams-Sonoma joins Overstock, UNIQLO, Valentino, Columbia Sportswear, and ESPRIT in banning alpaca fleece. After talks with PETA, the company previously banned mohair from its stores, made its west elm hotels down-free, and removed foie gras from recipes.

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