Sheep Suffer and Die for Wool: Tell H&M to Ban It!
Sheep form friendships, recognize familiar faces, and—like any of us—want to live. But the wool industry values them only for the fleece on their backs.
A PETA Asia investigation into a South African wool farm that sells wool marketed as “ethical,” “humane,” and “responsible” documented sheep being kicked, struck in the face with metal shearing equipment, and left bleeding from untreated wounds. Investigators also found a sheep suffering from a maggot-infested wound and a dead lamb on the property. The farm sells its wool through a broker that supplies H&M Group with “responsibly” sourced wool.
Every wool purchase tells this industry it’s okay to keep hurting sheep. When you buy wool from H&M, sheep pay the ultimate price—suffering and death. Please, don’t do it!
Help persuade H&M to leave wool behind by taking the actions below.
1. Contact H&M on social media and politely ask why it continues to sell wool.
Feel free to use these talking points or write your own:
- In the wool industry, workers violently restrain sheep and leave many bleeding from deep wounds from shearing. When their bodies are too worn out and can no longer turn a profit, workers slit their throats. How can H&M sell wool and still claim that “no animals should be harmed” for its clothing?
- If “responsible” wool still comes from sheep who are kicked, beaten, and left bleeding, how can H&M advertise it as “responsible”?
- Why does H&M continue promoting certifications that have failed to protect sheep from violence and exploitation instead of using vegan materials?
2. Take action and urge H&M to ban wool.
Every action sends a message to H&M that consumers refuse to support the exploitation of living individuals, no matter what misleading certification it hides behind.
3. Speak with customer service.
Call H&M at 855-466-7467 and urge it to follow through on its word that “no animals should be harmed” for its products by banning wool.
Need inspiration? Feel free to use these talking points!
- In the wool industry, workers violently restrain sheep and leave many bleeding from deep wounds from shearing. When their bodies are too worn out and can no longer turn a profit, workers slit their throats. How can H&M sell wool and still claim that “no animals should be harmed” for its clothing?
- If “responsible” wool still comes from sheep who are kicked, beaten, and left bleeding, how can H&M advertise it as “responsible”?
- Why does H&M continue promoting certifications that have failed to protect sheep from violence and exploitation instead of using vegan materials?
4. Organize a peaceful demonstration.
Help educate shoppers outside an H&M store about the violence and exploitation behind wool. Sign up below to lead a protest in your area! Include “H&M Wool Protest” in the description box.
5. Visit your local H&M store and spread the truth about wool.
Speak politely with the store manager and ask them to relay your concerns to company leadership. Let them know you’d love to shop at H&M once it stops selling wool and instead embraces state-of-the-art, animal-free materials. Request a template letter for H&M, which you can bring along and leave with management! You can also request leaflets to leave in fitting rooms, on store shelves, or anywhere else shoppers are likely to discover them. Feel free to email PETA’s Action Team if you have activism questions.
6. Share PETA’s campaign on social media.
Love, comment on, and share PETA Asia’s investigation that exposes the “ethical” wool H&M uses. Use key language like “wool,” “sheep,” and “H&M” to help more people discover the issue.
7. Choose animal-free fashion.
Fashion should be about creativity—not bloodshed. Choose warm, stylish materials like recycled polyester, TENCEL™, hemp, bamboo, cotton, and innovative vegan fabrics that don’t require sheep to be bruised, bloodied, and terrified.
Every purchase is a chance to tell companies like H&M that consumers want fashion that respects the lives and autonomy of our fellow animals.
No one needs wool. From the Ibiza Fashion Festival going wool-free to more than 500 brands dropping angora wool and hundreds ditching cashmere, mohair, and alpaca wool, fashion is turning away from materials taken from animals.
Thank you for standing up for sheep—each one an individual who deserves to live free from exploitation. Together, we can convince H&M to stop hiding behind misleading certifications and ban wool.
