June 2008
Unless you’re hunting for a leopard-print accessory, it’s easy to not give animals a second thought when you’re on the prowl for a killer outfit. Why should you? Well, the fashion world still isn’t great on animal rights, but it’s not quite the puppy-skinning industry dreamt up by Cruella De Vil for her 101 Dalmatians…
Furry friends
In the 1990s top models declared they’d rather go naked than wear fur. But somehow it’s slunk back into the shops. More than 85% is produced on fur farms and, whilst the International Fur Trade Association says that fur farming is well regulated, PETA contends that appalling animal welfare practices (including skinning sometimes conscious animals) are common.
If you’re desperate for the bling look, choose vintage pieces which have been dead for years. You could try fake fur, but producing this has a big environmental impact. So maybe fur’s best left to animals and teddies…
Snazzy skins
The trade in crocodile and snake skins for ‘It’ handbags is flourishing (about one million crocodile skins are sold each year). While crocodile farming can mess up river ecosystems, animal welfare experts claim that some snakes can get an even rougher deal. Still alive, they have water piped down their throats so they blow up like a balloon. This loosens their skin, making it easier to pull off.
So if you’re after reptile skin, a few are imported as a by-product - such as eel skins from Korea, where they’re eaten. BoBelle has a range of cute eel skin purses.
Shoe shockers
Traditionally, the most fab shoes have been made of leather - not so fab for the billion animals that are slaughtered each year to make them. While all of the leather produced in this country is a meat by-product, in other countries animals are bred specifically to produce it. Much of it’s made in India and China, where animal welfare laws are often either ignored or non-existent. Far from a roving life on the range, cows are often crammed into tiny spaces and transported in crowded, disease-ridden ships for weeks on end.
But you can find bags and belts that are made from recycled leather - for example, from Ting in London. And a growing range of vegan alternatives are available on the high street.
Molested moths
Probably the smallest animal in the fashion industry is the silkworm. In most silk production, the worm is steamed or gassed inside its cocoon so that the silk which the cocoon is made from can be unwound. This process means killing about 3,000 silkworms to make 1lb (0.45kg) of silk. More humane ‘peace silk’ production leaves the worms to mature into moths and fly away before their cocoons are used.
Woolly warmers
Making a woolly jumper isn’t always as fluffy as it seems. Toxic sheep dip can leak into water supplies, affecting wild animals as well as humans. And there’s debate over a controversial technique called mulesing. This involves carving off the skin around a sheep’s tail area to avoid fly infestations.
Funky skate brand howies is leading the field by only stocking wool that guarantees animal welfare, with a strict no mulesing policy. Some high-street retailers such as H&M are also against the practice. And stockists like Marks & Spencer are looking into organic wool, which is produced without using toxic dips.
© MMIX