Written by Michelle Kretzer
If holiday shoppers needed divine intervention to persuade them to keep animal skins off their lists, that's exactly what they got. A saintly duo of PETA "angels" has been crisscrossing Canada in cherubic attire to help people in the frozen north be angelic to animals this winter by eschewing fur, leather, wool, down, and exotic skins.
And while crowds of pedestrians were stopping to take pictures of the holy encounter and offering to buy the angels some hot tea, the dreamy pair was busy explaining that torturing and killing animals for their skin is an unholy nightmare.
The angels are hopeful that people will show good will toward animals this holiday season so that this year, every time a bell rings, an angel will get her wings and animals will keep their skin.
Written by Jeff Mackey
The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, when the holiday gift-shopping season really gets underway. But for animal rights advocates nationwide, it's Fur-Free Friday, also an occasion to hit the stores—to urge consumers not to buy into the cruelty of the skins trade.
Yes, "skins." Even on Fur-Free Friday, it's important to remember that fur isn't the only material used for clothing that results from the suffering of animals. Like fur, leather, for instance, comes from animals who are raised on crowded farms and killed using cruel methods—some are even skinned while they're still alive. Whether it comes from a snake or a sable, a cow or a chinchilla, it's all skin—and we, not they, can live without it.
PETA hopes that everyone heading out to (or returning from) a Fur-Free Friday demonstration will be able to answer the question, "Whose skin am I in?" with the reply, "Only my own!"
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.
What do you say to a naked, bloody lady in a shoebox? How about "Hi"?
No, that's not a joke. It's what Midwesterners must have been asking themselves as they encountered PETA's latest demonstration, in which two of the aforementioned "bloody," naked (well, nearly) women lay inside a giant shoebox. Check out the scene in Cincinnati:
The point? The leather used to make shoes and other clothing and accessories comes from animals who endure the horrors of factory farming before being trucked to slaughterhouses, where they routinely have their throats cut and are skinned and dismembered while they are still conscious. Meanwhile, the toxic chemicals used by tanneries are extremely harmful to workers and the environment.
With all the fashionable and durable vegan shoes, jackets, belts, and purses now widely available, there's no excuse for killing animals for their skin. Please strip leather from your wardrobe!
Today marks the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day. To celebrate, PETA presents the top 10 surprising ways that helping save the planet saves animals, too:
Most of the puppies that pet stores sell are trucked or flown hundreds of miles from puppy mills, creating a Great Dane–sized carbon pawprint. But animal shelters in every city are full of locally grown companion animals you can tuck into your Smart car before taking the short drive home.
SeaWorld isn't just hard on orcas—it's also hard on the environment. The marine park was in a fine mess after it got hit with a fine for messing up San Diego's Mission Bay after violating effluent limitations numerous times.
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Ecosystems are being decimated by biological supply houses that catch huge numbers of frogs to be dissected. If you're a student or parent, urge your local school district to switch to a virtual dissection program instead.
Ringling logs more than 25,000 miles every year dragging animals across the country chained in boxcars and trucks. Don't give the "cruelest show on Earth" your green until it goes green and retires its animals to sanctuaries.
Primates are torn away from their jungle homes and flown to the U.S. from as far away as China, Cambodia, and Indonesia to be used in experiments. Ask the few airlines that still transport primates to laboratories to stop—for animals and the planet.
We know that only mean people wear fur, and only ungreen people wear the toxic soup of chemicals that it takes to keep the fur from rotting off their backs—chemicals such as ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and chromates.
There are so many luscious body-care product lines out now that are made without harsh chemicals and without harsh animal tests that it's easier than ever to be a green goddess. Check out PETA's shopping guide for a list of cruelty-free companies.
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Neither are the other chemicals you'll find en masse at leather tanneries, such as formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and cyanide-based finishes. Wearing dried-up animal skin is all dried up.
Meat production requires so much water that you save more water by not eating one 16-ounce steak than you do by not showering for six months. So by going vegan, you can help save the Earth and keep it a pleasant-smelling place.
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Now that you've saved the Earth and animals, relax with a beer. If you recall PETA's notorious "Got Beer?" campaign, you know this beverage choice won't contribute to the massive climate change, exploitation of resources, and water and air pollution that the dairy industry is responsible for.
Spread the green! Share this post on social-networking sites and help other aspiring environmentalists go green for animals' sake.
Google goes gaga for vegan food, learn how to show bunnies some love this Valentine's Day, and help us ask Florida not to change its slogan to "The Hoarder State." Here's everything in PETA's world that you might have missed this week.
Don't miss any breaking animal rights stories. Hop on over to PETA's Tumblr page for the latest:
Mooove away from leather, baby. Cows don't wear our babies, so why should we wear theirs?
During New York Fashion Week, thousands of style editors from around the world scurry between runway shows in cabs—that's why PETA planned to run Stella McCartney's new leather exposé on the city's unavoidable video screens in taxis. We're no strangers to having our ads banned, so we've kind of grown thick skin about it, but we weren't prepared for the lightning-quick rejection that VeriFone Media gave us. It seems the company only wants to run consumer promotions, not cautions.
"As a designer, I like to work with fabrics that don't bleed; that's why I avoid all animal skins," Stella says in the video, which spotlights animal suffering and the human health risk and environmental impact of leather tanneries. "Please join me in exploring the huge variety of fashionable shoes, belts, purses, and wallets that aren't the product of a cow's violent death."
We're disappointed that the advertising company told us to take a hike, but we're launching the video for Fashion Week anyway. Check it out below:
Explore some überhip cruelty-free fashions with PETA's style guide.
PETA "cops" were out in force at the Sundance Film Festival, making arrests for fashion felonies. Anyone wearing wool, leather, exotic skins, or fur saw the light. A flashing blue one, that is.
The crime: Ripping off an animal
The punishment: A public scolding
The penance: Buying a coat that didn't claim a life
The best show in Vegas last week wasn't in a casino—it was on the sidewalk on Las Vegas Boulevard. Luck was a lady leopard (and a cow and a snake) when PETA's "showgirls" stripped down on The Strip to reveal their animalistic bodypaint.
Crowds flocked to the ladies like they were the hottest blackjack table, posing for pictures and scooping up information about how animals raised or trapped for their skin suffer.
With the flurry of flashbulbs now over and loads of leaflets distributed, it's a safe bet that any animal skins the passersby will be flaunting from now on will be as fake as an Elvis impersonator.
You and animals both win when you choose animal prints, not animal skins.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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