Ann Taylor and LOFT wearers, rejoice! The parent company of those iconic clothing and accessory brands, ANN INC., has banned the use of exotic-animal skins in its product lines after meeting with PETA and learning about the extreme animal suffering caused by the exotic-skins industry. The company's newly revised animal welfare policy reads, "Our private label brands do not use real animal fur and do not knowingly sell products with skins considered to be exotic, including but not limited to alligator, crocodile and ostrich."

ANN INC. joins Mango, H&M, Victoria's Secret, PUMA, and others in adopting animal welfare policies that ban exotic-animal skins. In Africa, Asia, and the U.S., exotic animals—including snakes and lizards—are hunted or raised and killed specifically for their skins. Alligators and crocodiles are stabbed in the neck with a metal chisel or bludgeoned with metal bats. PETA Asia's undercover investigations found live snakes nailed to trees by their heads before their skin was torn off their writhing bodies.

What You Can Do

If you see people wearing or selling exotic skins, please ask them to watch PETA's hard-hitting video exposé "Cold-Blooded Horrors: Inside the Exotic-Skins Trade" narrated by The Master star and longtime PETA pal Joaquin Phoenix to learn about the cruelty behind their fashion choices.

james bowe/cc by 2.0

Super-chic clothing company Ann Taylor is showing that it's got compassion sense to match its fashion sense. The retailer, known for modern silhouettes and sophisticated style, is moving away from purchasing wool from sheep who have been mulesed.

Mulesing is a painful procedure in which ranchers cut off large chunks of lambs' skin without using any painkillers. The Australian wool industry says that it uses mulesing to prevent a condition known as "flystrike" in which folds in the animals' skin trap moisture and attract flies and maggots—but the gaping open wounds caused by mulesing often lead to flystrike anyway. Many farmers are already using more humane flystrike-prevention methods, including dietary improvements, regular spray washing, and the breeding of bare-breech sheep.

Until farmers stop mulesing sheep, they will continue to lose profits: Ann Taylor joins a long list of major retailers—including H&M, Perry Ellis, HUGO BOSS, Liz Claiborne, and Gap Inc.—that are making the leap for happier sheep by moving away from or banning the use of wool from mulesed sheep. Be sure to take a moment to thank Ann Taylor for this compassionate move.

Written by Michelle Sherrow