Blackpool Designer is Finalist in PETA Vegan Handbag Competition

For Immediate Release:
30 May 2017

Contact:
Olivia Jordan +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 229; [email protected]

BLACKPOOL DESIGNER IS FINALIST IN PETA VEGAN HANDBAG COMPETITION

Group’s Contest With British Brand Wilby Seeks Stylish, Cruelty-Free Bag Design

Blackpool – Local designer Adele Parker has been named a finalist in PETA’s vegan handbag design competition. She was shortlisted for her chic black design, which can be worn as both a handbag and a backpack. The contest to find the new vegan “It bag” is being run in collaboration with trendy eco-friendly accessory brand Wilby. The winning design will be chosen by model and animal rights advocate Lucy Watson and will be produced and sold by Wilby.

“More and more, those in the fashion industry are moving away from animal skins and experimenting with sustainable, vegan materials,” says guest judge Watson. “This competition offers young designers a chance to be a part of the trend towards compassionate fashion – it’s all very exciting!”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – notes that many animals killed for leather endure castration, branding, tail-docking, and dehorning without painkillers, as shown in Stella McCartney’s shocking video exposé of the leather industry. Some are even skinned or dismembered alive. In addition, the global skins trade is notorious for harming the environment, from the methane emissions produced by cattle to the toxic tannery chemicals that pollute nearby water supplies.

Recent innovations in plant-based fabrics include grape leather, cork, waxed cotton, Piñatex (derived from pineapple leaves), and MuSkin (extracted from mushroom caps).

Most Wilby bags are made in the UK and in accordance with the company’s motto and Mahatma Gandhi’s famous saying, “There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger and unhappiness.”

Photos are available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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