H&M Bans New Down Feathers After Huge PETA Campaign!

H&M – the second-largest clothing retailer in the world – has committed to no longer sourcing new down for any of its brands worldwide, sparing countless ducks and geese a lifetime of misery and an agonising death.

In a move towards eradicating the use of down altogether, H&M is transitioning to using only synthetic or post-consumer recycled down for its jackets and home goods.

The announcement comes after a huge global campaign by PETA entities, including dozens of demonstrations at H&M stores around the world, an appeal from Joaquin Phoenix, shareholder resolutions, and letters from more than 150,000 supporters of PETA entities.

The Truth About the Down Industry

H&M’s compassionate decision is a big win for ducks and geese. In the down industry, highly sensitive, social, and family-oriented ducks and geese are forced to spend their entire lives in filthy sheds or on barren, faeces-strewn lots.

At slaughterhouses, many birds are inadequately stunned before their throats are cut, so they’re often still conscious when they’re dumped into defeathering tanks of scalding-hot water.

Non-Animal Materials

Prior to the campaign, PETA US collaborated with H&M to create the Co-exist Story, a vegan collection featuring FLWRDWN – a down alternative made from wildflowers – and other sustainably sourced materials, including Vegea, a leather made from grape skin, and ECONYL, a regenerated nylon created from waste like fishing nets and fabric scraps.