Watch: Joaquin Phoenix Reacts to PETA’s Wool Exposé
At his latest PETA ad photo shoot, Joaquin Phoenix took a moment to discuss how shocked he was to discover a product of harsh cruelty lurking in his wardrobe.
In the video, he meets an adorable rescued sheep and reveals why he’ll wear only vegan suits:
When PETA [US] sent me that video of this undercover investigation of what happened in these shearing farms, that was really eye-opening. . . . [I]t’s impossible to do that in a humane way. And so, it seems that the only option is to not use wool. That’s become abundantly clear.
The ad is debuting after a landmark case this week in which six wool industry workers were charged with cruelty to animals for the first time in history after a PETA US investigation documented shearers beating scared sheep in the face with electric clippers in Australia. It shows Joaquin looking stylish and makes a bold statement.
In its exposés of the international wool industry, PETA has revealed that gentle sheep are punched in the face, jabbed with electric clippers, slammed to the floor, and stamped on by impatient workers. As Joaquin mentions in his interview, shearers are often paid by volume, not by the hour, which encourages fast, violent work that can lead to gaping wounds on sheep’s bodies. Workers then stitch up the wounds – without giving the animals any painkillers.
The ad’s release coincides with the busiest shopping season of the year, a time when it’s more important than ever for us to consider how our decisions at the till affect animals. For the shoot, Joaquin wore a vegan wool suit by Brave GentleMan, which won Brand of the Year in the PETA Menswear Fashion Awards 2016. The label proves that there’s no need to sacrifice style when ditching cruelty from your wardrobe. Learn more about the variety of options available to shoppers who want to avoid wool and other animal-derived materials:
