The House of Lords Gets Hip to Cruelty-Free Fashion

We already knew that ethical, vegan fashion is bigger than it’s ever been – after all, we hosted our first Vegan Fashion Awards this year to celebrate all the great compassionate clothing around these days. We’re absolutely thrilled that this crucial issue has also made its way to the debating chamber of the House of Lords this week.

Baroness Young of Hornsey opened a debate “to ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they will give to the promotion of ethical and sustainable fashion” – because, as she says, fashion is about much more than the clothes we wear. It’s also about our identity and our values, meaning that cruelty-free is always the most stylish option.

A highlight of the lively discussion was this encouraging statement by Baroness Parminter of Godalming (who set a great example by requesting fur-free “non-ermine ermine” robes when she entered the House of Lords):

We have come a long way with compassionate fashion, largely thanks to powerful campaigning by organisations such as PETA. Opinion polls show that 95% of Britons would never wear real fur and top designers including Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren and Stella McCartney leave fur out of their designs. Even on the high street, icons such as Topshop, H&M and New Look are fur- and exotic-free.

It’s obvious that the message that animals are not ours to wear is spreading far and wide. But there’s still a lot of work to be done before we finally see the back of cruel fur, exotic skins and leather. Please join the movement against stolen skins – take a look at your own shopping habits, then speak out to end animal suffering.