VF Corporation’s Ties to Grisly Sheep Slaughter Focus of PETA Shareholder Resolution

For Immediate Release:
February 9, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

In a shareholder resolution submitted to VF Corporation, PETA challenges the Denver‑based parent company of icebreaker and other brands to provide transparent, detailed reports about animal welfare violations in its supply chain. The proposal also calls on VF Corporation to disclose what, if anything, the company does when abuses are discovered. The resolution comes after a recent PETA Asia investigation of a sheep slaughterhouse owned by Silver Fern Farms—which buys sheep whose wool ends up in VF products—revealing that sheep were killed in violent, agonizingly painful ways once their wool production declined.

VF Corporation and itsicebreaker brand boast of selling apparel featuring ZQ-certified wool, which claims to be “the world’s leading ethical wool brand,” when, in direct contrast to this corporate lip service, PETA Asia’s investigation into New Zealand operations that supply ZQ-certified wool, which includes multiple icebreaker suppliers, documented workers beating and kicking terrified sheep, stomping and standing on their necks, and violently throwing the animals down chutes. Sheep at ZQ-certified farms who are deemed no longer profitable are sold to slaughterhouses. Investigators found that workers forced frightened sheep onto conveyor belts, electroshocked them in the head, and slashed their throats. Sheep were seen twitching their ears and thrashing their legs after their necks were slashed.

“In shearing sheds and  slaughterhouses, sheep used by the wool industry suffer hideously, and deceptive labels only serve to dupe  consumers who would want no part in it,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is calling on VF Corporation to come clean about cruelty in its supply chain—and urging anyone disturbed by how these sheep are sliced and diced for their wool to please choose vegan apparel that leaves animals in peace.”

PETA entities’ exposés of more than 150 wool-industry operations on four continents have exposed extreme and rampant abuse of sheep, who have complex emotions, grow depressed if isolated from their flock, and can detect anxiety in another sheep by observing their face.

A recent survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults commissioned by PETA and conducted by The Harris Poll has found that 64% were unaware that sheep in the wool industry are sent to slaughter when their wool production declines—and 73% said they would likely reconsider purchasing wool if they learned sheep are mistreated even on self-described “ethical” or “responsible” farms.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.