World's Largest Retailer Bans Angora Wool, Does Something Pretty Amazing with the Leftovers
Happy New York Fashion Week Everyone! If you live here in NYC, get ready for costume-dawning fashionistas to hit the streets in full-force, as the merriment and glamour encroaches upon us. If you don't, you can be sure that any fashion blogs and/or instagram accounts you follow will be covering this "maj" (major) semi-annual event.
But amidst all of the hype and hullabaloo, there's one brand that is already making waves before the week has even begun. Zara, the world's largest retailer, (or, to be more specific, the flagship chain of the world's largest retailer, Inditex) has agreed to make its temporary ban on angorra fiber permanent. This decision comes after a greusome PETA exposé about rabbit abuse in China. According to PETA's website, "Ninety percent of angora wool comes from China, where there are no penalties for abuse of animals on farms and no standards to regulate the treatment of the animals. When you buy a sweater, hat, or other product that contains angora, the angora wool most likely originated in China, even if the finished product was assembled elsewhere."
Further, "the undercover footage, shot by PETA Asia, reveals routine cruelty to angora rabbits, whose long, soft fur is often used in sweaters and accessories. The investigator filmed workers who were violently ripping the fur from the animals' sensitive skin as they screamed at the top of their lungs in pain. After this terrifying and barbaric ordeal, which the rabbits endure every three months, many of them appeared to go into severe shock. After two to five years, those who have survived are hung upside down, their throats are slit, and their carcasses are sold."
The footage is shown below, but I warn you, it's graphic and disturbing:
According to an article on Ecouterre, “Inditex will not place any further order with any supplier for products containing angora wool until each relevant facility has been previously inspected again and the findings reviewed, following the Inditex Audit protocol,” the company said in a statement at the time. Further, now that Inditex has permanently banned the use of angora, they firm is donating any leftover stock, including 20,000 brand-new angora garments with a retail value of roughly $878,000, to Syrian refugees in Lebanon through the nonprofit Life for Relief and Development.
While living in Manhattan for 6 years I've been tantalized by the glitz and glamour of this industry, but I've never found "fashion" to be of any particular importance. However, this story really sheds light upon the convergence of fashion and social impact, and shows that corporate retailers like Inditex do stand for more than profit. Beyond that, this story shows that fashion can influence culture in a significant way, by making strong, moral and philanthropic decisions. This brand leads by example.
As Simon Sinek says in his TED Talk How Great Leaders Inspire Action, "there are leaders, and there are those who lead." Leaders are authority figures who have power, but those who lead are the ones who inspire the masses to uphold ethical practices (such as ending malevolent animal abuse in the name of fashion, and donating garments to refugees.) It's choices like these that are hardest to make, but they uphold a level of consciousness that we strive for in the 21st Century. Zara is run by one who leads: honorably and justly. This is certainly a brand to stand behind.
So enjoy fashion week, always bearing in mind the impact that these brands' decisions have on society.
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For more information about this article:
Zara Bans Angora & Does Something Pretty Cool With The Leftovers
Leadership: Start with Why (Simon Sinek)
Angora Fur, Ripped from Rabbit's Skin (PETA)
