1/3 - December 10 was the International Animal Rights Day. The opportunity to review the current news and advances in the fight against the exploitation of non-humans by fashion and luxury with Anissa Putois, representative of the association PETA France (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). In this first part of her interview: focus on wool.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Le Boudoir Numérique: On December 1, the Italian group Armani, owner of the brands Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani, expressed its will to ban the use of angora in its future collections. Likewise, the clothing platform Farfetch will no longer sell it by April 2022. Are these announcements good news for those who denounce the cruelties inflicted on Angora rabbits, whose long, silky hairs are spun into angora wool ?

Anissa Putois, senior communications officer at PETA France: Yes, it's very positive. Since PETA began its investigations on the subject a few years ago, the angora industry has collapsed. Contacted by us, hundreds of brands have pledged to no longer use angora, after having see the videos showing the abuse suffered by rabbits. Today, you can count on the fingers of one hand the brands that still use it. Earlier this year, the French brand American Vintage, which we had been targeting with a campaign for a year and a half because it refused to stop angora, made a commitment to do so. Having Armani and Farfetch also respond to our request will save a lot of rabbits.

What are the sufferings endured by Angora rabbits for their coats?

The rabbits used for angora, who have very soft fur, are very often raised in individual cages, while these sentient beings need to live together, in groups. Several times a year, they are taken out of their cage to be stretched across boards, where their hairs are ripped of their skin. In other farms, they are tied up and hung upside down by the limbs to suffer the same fate. Their skin being very delicate, it sometimes tears and the rabbits are left without care after this manipulation. Some will die in the very cold sheds because without their coats they have no protection against weather elements. This treatment is extremely cruel. And as with any animal exploitation, once these animals are deemed unprofitable, once their fur no longer grows fast enough or is not soft enough, they are sent to slaughter.

And this cruelty starts again regularly, as soon as the hairs grow back, is that right?

The animals undergo this torture several times in their life, between two and three times a year, depending on the farms.

Let's broaden our discussion to wool used in fashion, mainly sheep's wool. Last November, two PETA France activists demonstrated in front of Parisian department stores to denounce wool, the reality of breeding and shearing. The image d'Épinal of the breeder who treats and shears his sheep with benevolence seems persistent among some consumers who still invoke it, in good faith.

We often hear this argument of the breeders who take good care of their animals. Unfortunately, we know that it is not the case at all. We have seen so many investigations, in all sectors, whether it is fashion, food, etc. which show that the moment animals are exploited for profit, they will suffer abuse. In the case of sheep, several PETA investigations report, in Australia, the largest producer of wool in the world, totally unacceptable practices suffered by sheep. I am thinking in particular of mulesing (a surgical technique for removing part of the skin around the animal's anus, practiced in Australia to reduce the incidence of myiasis for merino sheep, an infection due to the presence of parasitic insect larvae in the body, autor's note). This mutilation is performed without anesthesia. In heartbreaking videos from PETA, we see lambs having their breech cut up, in front of their mothers who hear them screaming, unable to do anything to help them.

What about shearing?

PETA investigations, in all about fifteen videos shot in more than 200 wool farms and sheep shearing sheds, all over the world, on four continents, show animals being abused. Because the shearers, paid by the volume of wool they get from the animal and not by the hour, work very, very fast trying to shear as much wool as possible. The animals are pinned to the ground when they try to struggle. They are sometimes literally thrown by the shearers. Some are punched in the head, kicked. We see shearers standing on their necks, their limbs. Animals injured or cut by shearing tools are left without care. Really, with wool, we are very far from the idyllic image of a sheep well treated and gently shorn in a meadow. 

Earlier this year, the press reported on the shearing of Baarack, a merino sheep who, lost in the Australian bush for five to seven years, had developed a 35 kilos fleece. I recently talked with someone who, based on this anecdote, justified his consumption of wool by the fact that not shearing the sheep makes them suffer...

It's true. Today, merino sheep have to be sheared because otherwise they develop too much wool and cannot naturally get rid of it, as it was the case before the exploitation of sheep for wool developed on a large scale. Indeed, merino sheep have been genetically selected by the wool industry to produce as much wool as possible, in order to get maximum benefit from each animal. In the wild, the ancestors of today's domestic sheep produce just the right amount of wool to keep them warm through the winter. Then, they naturally lose the surplus of their fleece each year. So, yes, merino sheep must be sheared, at least once a year, so that they do not suffer from the development of an abnormally heavy fleece.

In the Australian animal sanctuary, Edgar’s Mission, where this Merino sheep was rescued, he was sheared with respect...

Absolutely. Because the shearing was not done for profit but to relieve the sheep of his burden. Our investigations unfortunately prove that in the wool industry this is not the case: the shearing is not done in the best conditions for the animals at all.

If we want to avoid wearing wool, what alternatives to turn to, for instance for a pair of socks?

One can opt for alternatives that are not derived from the exploitation of animals, such as organic cotton, bamboo, flax, hemp, natural fibers that respect the environment. We're not going to lie to each other, we're not quite there yet. Not yet, for example, if we compare with alternatives to leather, which are numerous. However, knits made from plant fibers are developing more and more, with qualities similar to those of wool, while being less polluting.

What is the ecological impact of wool production?

The breeding of sheep, like that of cattle, leads to deforestation and generates quantities of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. In addition to pesticides and insecticides used to rid sheep of parasites, toxic chemicals are used to treat wool, which contaminates rivers, ecosystems and surrounding populations. According to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report, sheep's wool is one of the five most polluting materials in fashion.

What if I buy a pair of synthetic socks?

Choose recycled synthetic fibers, even if we are not promoting petrochemical materials at all. Nevertheless, according to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report, greenhouse gas emissions generated by the production of wool are higher than those caused by the production of acrylic, nylon and other synthetic materials. Synthetics are far from ideal, but when you compare wool to vegan petroleum-derived materials, in ecological terms, wool loses out.

* The second part of Anissa Putois’ interview will soon be available on Le Boudoir Numérique. 

* Find the Boudoir Numérique's special file on vegan fashion and beauty here.