Secret’s Out: Victoria’s Secret & Co Says No to Cashmere

London – After learning from PETA US that goats scream in pain and fear as they’re tied down and their hair is torn out in the cashmere industry, Victoria’s Secret & Co, which owns Victoria’s Secret and PINK, has banned cashmere. To celebrate, the fashion retailer will receive a box of delicious vegan chocolates from PETA US.

“Victoria’s Secret’s decision will spare many goats the horrific ordeal of shearing,” says PETA Vice President for UK, Europe, and Australia Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA urges conscious consumers to help animals by choosing vegan materials, which aren’t the product of a lifetime of suffering.”

A PETA Asia video investigation into cashmere farms in China and Mongolia, which together are responsible for 90% of the world’s cashmere, revealed that terrified goats were pinned to the ground while workers ripped out their hair with sharp metal combs so violently that the animals screamed in pain and sustained bloody cuts. In China, goats deemed no longer profitable were slaughtered after workers hit them in the head with a hammer in an attempt to stun them. In Mongolia, workers dragged them by one leg onto the slaughterhouse floor before slitting their throat in full view of other goats.

The negative environmental impact of cashmere production is greater than that of any other animal-derived fibre. The industry is a significant contributor to soil degradation, which turns grasslands into deserts, including in Mongolia, where 90% of the land is in danger of desertification.

There is an abundance of luxurious, stylish vegan materials to take the place of animal-derived fabrics – including soya cashmere, recycled polyester, organic and sustainably farmed hemp, and bamboo as well as modal, Tencel, and viscose made from sustainably harvested wood.

Victoria’s Secret joins ASOS, Columbia Sportswear, Overstock, and dozens of other companies that have banned cashmere. PETA is calling on Urban Outfitters, H&M, and other retailers to follow suit.

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.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Contact:

Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]

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