Leather Cruelty Protested at London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week attendees got an eyeful outside the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN show space as London Fashion Week kicked off.
A PETA activist’s “skin” was torn off to call attention to the suffering animals are subjected to in the clothing industry – and remind everyone that leather is someone’s skin.
As NEWGEN is hosting several up-and-coming designers’ shows during London Fashion Week, the demonstration aimed to encourage designers and attendees to think about the consequences of their actions.
The Leather Industry
For leather bags, jackets, and shoes, cows are confined on cramped factory farms. They’re subjected to extreme crowding and deprivation as well as castration, branding, tail-docking, and dehorning – all without any painkillers.
At abattoirs, their throats are cut and some are even skinned and dismembered while they’re still conscious.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Stella McCartney and Helsinki Fashion Week Are Leather-Free
Designers are moving away from animal skin and opting for plant leathers. Top designer Stella McCartney has always been proudly leather-free, and Helsinki Fashion Week ditched the cruelly obtained material out of concern for the environment in July 2019.
Vegan Leather
Mirum, a premium plastic-free vegan leather made using natural rubber, requires no tanning and no water during manufacture. Other vegan textile options are made from pineapple, apple, mushroom, or even cactus.
What You Can Do
Pledge to go leather-free, and urge London Fashion Week to commit to a leather ban:
