Fashion conglomerate Australian Fashion Labels - whose portfolio includes Finders Keepers, C/MEO Collective, Keepsake the Label, The Fifth Label, and Jaggar the Label - and Australian designer label One Teaspoon have both confirmed that cashmere will not appear in their future collections.
The decision comes after PETA provided the Australian designer labels with video footage of extreme cruelty to and the violent killing of cashmere goats in China and Mongolia, which produce 90% of the world's cashmere. The footage shows workers holding down and stepping on goats and bending their legs into unnatural positions. Workers tear out their hair using sharp metal combs. Later, their throats are slit at abattoirs.
Australian Fashion Labels and One Teaspoon join a growing number of fashion labels around the world that have turned their backs on cashmere, including H&M, ASOS, and Scotch and Soda.
"By committing to policies banning cashmere from future collections, both Australian Fashion Labels and One Teaspoon have made not only a compassionate decision but also a savvy business move," said PETA spokesperson Emily Rice. "Nowadays, consumers are looking to buy from ethical brands that are kind to animals – and the planet."
