Burberry’s AGM in London: PETA US Demands Cashmere and Feather Ban

At Burberry’s annual meeting today, representatives from shareholders including PETA US pushed the company to ban cashmere and feathers.

The action follows damning PETA Asia investigations into goat and duck farms and slaughterhouses linked to the Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA) and the misleadingly labelled Responsible Down Standard (RDS) that the fashion house touts in its responsible sourcing policy.

Burberry claims that it doesn’t knowingly use materials that “may inflict any harm to animal welfare”, yet terrified goats, geese, and ducks are suffering horribly for its designs. Now that Burberry is aware of exactly what happens in its supply chain, PETA is calling on the company to ban cashmere and feathers and switch to animal-friendly vegan materials instead.

The Cashmere Industry Is a Rip-Off

A new PETA Asia investigation revealed workers at SFA-certified cashmere farms pinning down goats by their legs and horns and pulling out their hair with sharp metal combs as the animals screamed in pain and terror and were left with bloody wounds.

A herder cut kid goats’ scrotums open with a knife and pulled out their testicles, all without pain relief. In slaughterhouses, workers bludgeoned goats in the head with a hammer before slitting their throats.

SFA guidelines don’t require annual farm audits or the use of pain relief for castration or for injuries sustained during violent restraining and combing – and consider treating animals “humanely” prior to slaughter to be a recommendation, not a requirement.

Geese Are Decapitated for “Responsible” Down

Recent PETA Asia investigations into farms and slaughterhouses in the down trade have revealed ducks with bloody wounds being kept in dirty, dark sheds; a worker cutting conscious, terrified ducks’ necks as they struggled; and geese shrieking as a worker repeatedly hacked at their necks with a blunt axe before eventually decapitating them. Feathers from these facilities were later sold as RDS-certified.

Never Buy Cashmere or Down

Numerous exposés by PETA entities reveal that suffering, violence, and killing are ubiquitous in the down and cashmere industries. Stay away from this cruelty by choosing luxurious vegan materials, which are readily available.