UNIQLO bans alpaca wool after PETA appeal
Japan-based fashion giant UNIQLO has banned the use of alpaca wool in its' products, after viewing a first-of-its-kind PETA exposé revealing the treatment of alpacas in farms.
The PETA investigation into the world's largest privately owned alpaca farm in Peru, Mallkini shows that workers mistreated the animals whilst sheering them for wool.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to wear" – notes that in addition to causing alpacas suffering, the production of alpaca wool is terrible for the planet.
The Higg Materials Sustainability Index ranks alpaca wool as the second most environmentally damaging material after silk, noting that it's six times as harmful as polyester and more than four times as damaging as viscose, acrylic, and other vegan materials.
PETA Director of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor, said: "UNIQLO's decision will go a long way in helping to prevent vulnerable alpacas from being abused and shorn bloody for their wool."
In April, PETA bought stakes in two dozen brands and retailers, to use its position as a shareholder to exert pressure on them to ban wool, mohair and cashmere products.
The animal rights group acquired stakes in Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Urban Outfitters and Versace and Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings among others.
