‘Dead Salmon’ – Why PETA Commented on Farrow & Ball Paint Names

Paint manufacturer Farrow & Ball is known for its eccentric colour names, from Sulking Room Pink to Arsenic. However, decorators might be disturbed to come across names such as Dead Salmon, Tallow, Au Lait, Smoked Trout, and Potted Shrimp.

These names could use a makeover, since they perpetuate harmful practices – such as the killing of living, feeling beings for a brunch food. That’s why PETA sent a letter to Colour Curator Joa Studholme, who invents and names Farrow & Ball’s paint colours, urging her to use more animal-friendly labels that don’t promote suffering. Dead Salmon, for example, could become Magic Mushroom – a move that would remind others that animals are not food but sentient individuals and members of the delicate ecosystem we all share.

Here are more examples of PETA’s suggested changes:

Language Matters

Fish feel pain and experience stress, yet they’re dragged from the oceans and left to suffocate or killed by a knife to the abdomen. Using their death as inspiration for paint names normalises and perpetuates this cruelty. If we have the opportunity to use language that is kinder and more respectful towards others, why wouldn’t we do so?

What’s Wrong With Skimmed Milk?

Instead of promoting an industry in which mother cows are separated from their babies after just a few hours so the milk intended for them can be sold to supermarkets, we suggest that paint colour Skimmed Milk White could be rebranded as Oat Milk, and Au Lait could become Lait de Coco. Promoting plant milks is not only kinder to cows but also better for human health and the environment. Is PETA Policing Language?

PETA isn’t trying to stifle free speech but asking people to think about the impact their words have. There are many terms and phrases used 50 years ago that most people wouldn’t dream of using today because we now understand how hurtful and harmful they can be. As we evolve, so should – and does – our language.#

Demand for Vegan Homeware Is Growing

This animal-friendly move would also make business sense: the demand for vegan homeware – such as chairs made from pineapple leather, coconut wax candles, and plant-wool throws – is booming, and by switching to more respectful product names, Farrow & Ball would be meeting the demands of compassionate consumers.

Combat Speciesism With Language

Consider using PETA’s animal-friendly idioms. You can also join PETA’s anti-speciesism pledge to receive information and steps on how to help end speciesism – the misguided belief that some species are superior to others.