Wear Fruit, Not Friends on Your Birthday, Prince Charles
Prince Charles celebrates his birthday on 14 November. Never one to miss out on treating a member of the royal family to a gift on their special day, PETA wanted to do something woolderful for the patron of the Campaign for Wool.
So, we sent him a soft, sustainable, and sheep-friendly scarf made from banana fibres, along with a letter encouraging him to clean sheep’s wool out of his wardrobe.
Banana fabric is kinder to animals and the environment than sheep’s wool, and we hope it will inspire His Royal Highness to embrace vegan fabrics.
Why Bananas?
The sustainable banana fibre is produced from the waste foliage of banana plants grown in the lowland Terai area of South Nepal. The plant has to be cut back after the fruit harvest so that it regrows for the next season, and trading this waste product provides the farmers with extra income.
Banana yarn is suitable for vegans and an ideal alternative for those who don’t want to see sheep suffer for an accessory.
What’s Wrong With Wool?
The wool industry breeds sheep to produce excessive amounts of wool, which is bad for their health, and the shearing process is more than “just a haircut”. PETA entities have released 14 exposés documenting cruelty to sheep at 117 wool operations on four continents, documenting cruelty every time.
In the UK, workers have been caught stamping and standing on sheep, slamming their heads and bodies into wooden floors, punching the gentle animals in the face, and crudely stitching up gaping wounds with a needle and thread.
In addition, the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report found that wool is one of the most environmentally damaging materials. Just like cows, sheep are ruminant animals with digestive systems that constantly generate methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere – which is fuelling the climate crisis.
Fabrics of the Future
It’s not just bananas. There are so many beautiful animal-free knits available that it’s easier than ever to leave sheep’s wool behind and shop with compassion.
