How PETA’s Keeping the Pressure on Canada Goose to Ditch Fur, Down

Published by Katherine Sullivan.
11 min read

So many top brands—HoodLamb, Save the Duck, and Wuxly Movement, just to name a few—sell warm, stylish, cruelty-free coats that no animal had to suffer and die for. Yet Canada Goose continues to stitch cruelty into every one of its fur-lined, down-filled jackets. So we’re putting the retailer on blast—even more than usual.

Find out how we’re raising the stakes and how you can join us.

Update: June 23, 2021

After PETA submitted a shareholder proposal calling on Canada Goose to stop using fur from coyotes caught in steel traps and down from farmed birds in its parkas, the company’s lawyers threatened to sue if we didn’t withdraw the proposal—the third consecutive year that the company has made such a threat. (It really must not want to discuss the miserable deaths of countless coyotes, ducks, and geese in front of its other shareholders.) Rather than engage in a protracted and costly legal battle to defend against an unwarranted lawsuit, we withdrew our proposal and decided instead to attack the company’s practices through direct interaction with its potential customers—including through protests and the ads below, which empower the public to reject Canada Goose’s cruelly produced fur-and-feather coats.

Update: March 9, 2021

PETA pulled out all the stops during last week’s anti–Canada Goose week of action, rallying shoppers against the company’s fur-and-feather coats at its flagship stores and Canada Goose–peddling retailers. Protests in Beverly Hills, California …

Saks Fifth Avenue shoppers were greeted by PETA supporters brandishing an important message: “Canada Goose Cruelty Sold Here.”

Boston; Montréal …

Pittsburgh; New York City …

PETA Rallies Shoppers Against Fur-and-Feather Coats

… and other cities around the world reminded folks that when it comes to feeling pain, loving their families, and valuing their lives, birds and coyotes are no different from humans and that continuing to profit from the violent deaths of animals when there are so many wonderful cruelty-free options is inexcusable.

We also encouraged kind folks to take daily actions with us from home, including signing our rapid-action petition, asking media agencies to reconsider their relationships with Canada Goose, and calling the company (1-888-276-6297, then press 1) and urging it to stop selling fur and down now.

PETA’s anti–Canada Goose week of action may be over, but we should stand with birds and coyotes always—discover how easy it is to speak up for these animals.

Update: December 1, 2020

Just in time for the busy holiday shopping season, PETA has placed ads near Canada Goose stores in Boston …

anti-Canada Goose ad in Boston outside the Prudential Center

… Chicago …

… Montréal, New York City, and Vancouver, urging people to shun the brand’s fur-collared and down-filled jackets. The fur comes from coyotes who can face almost unimaginable suffering for days when caught in steel traps, and the feathers are from slaughtered farmed birds.

Kick Canada Goose to the curb until it stops peddling fur and feathers.

Shop these down-free jackets to keep you cozy and feather-free.

Update: August 12, 2020

“Given that animals trapped in the wild and those raised on farms always suffer, how can Canada Goose, which claims that it doesn’t condone any ‘undue suffering’ of animals, continue to sell fur-trimmed and down-filled jackets?” That’s the question that a PETA employee asked during Canada Goose’s online annual meeting earlier today, while masked and socially distanced PETA supporters protested outside the company’s Toronto headquarters.

this is the real canada goose
Protesters carrying signs showing graphic images of dead geese and coyotes alongside the words “Here Is the Rest of Your Canada Goose Jacket” surrounded Canada Goose’s Toronto headquarters. A QR code allowed passersby to access a hands-free “virtual leaflet” with information about the cruelty inherent in every Canada Goose garment.

While Canada Goose has pledged to stop buying “new” coyote fur starting in 2022, “reclaimed” fur still comes from coyotes who suffered in steel traps before they were shot, bludgeoned, or killed in other violent ways. The company is “humane washing” its use of down, too, by touting the abysmally inadequate Responsible Down Standard, which allows for injured animals to languish in pain for days before they’re put out of their misery.

Update: March 27, 2020

COVID-19 has pulled the plug on protests outside Canada Goose‘s brick-and-mortar stores, which are currently closed—but PETA’s international campaign against the company continues in full force. Most recently, local activists plastered dozens of fly posters around its flagship store in Toronto that ask, “Where Does Canada Goose Stand on Fur?” and show a businessperson’s foot on a coyote‘s neck.

Update: March 18, 2020

Not even the coronavirus can stop our international campaign against Canada Goose. Yesterday in New York City, we plastered phone kiosks near the company’s SoHo flagship store with ads challenging its use of feathers from slaughtered geese and fur from coyotes caught in steel traps. Local activists are flyposting even more targeted ads to protest the brand’s cruelty towards animals.

canada goose ads new york city

Keep reading for more reasons why Canada Goose is the last place you should be shopping—and more ways you can speak out for coyotes and gentle geese, who just want to be left in peace.

Update: January 14, 2020

Three bus shelter ads featuring a gentle goose and a noble coyote have been erected outside as well as down the street from Canada Goose’s flagship store in the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. Also in Alberta, a new billboard is on display in Calgary, just half a mile from the company’s flagship store in the CF Chinook Centre. We’ll continue to deliver blows to Canada Goose until it drops fur and feathers and goes animal-free.

bus shelter ad canada goose
A passerby in Edmonton, Alberta, stops to consider a bus shelter ad that reminds onlookers that all animals deserve respect.

Update: September 26, 2019

When Canada Douche Goose launched its #LiveInTheOpen campaign, we couldn’t resist partaking, reminding the company and the public that coyotes and geese want to #LiveInTheOpen, too:

Updated September 17, 2019:

PETA protesters flanked the red carpet on the opening night of the Canada Goose–sponsored Toronto International Film Festival.

Toronto International Film Festival Protest

And throughout the festival, a PETA mobile billboard showing a goose’s face next to the words “I Want You to Change. Don’t Buy Down: Boycott Canada Goose” …

… and a coyote’s face next to the words “I Want You to Change. Don’t Buy Fur: Boycott Canada Goose” …

… circled the area.

Updated March 5, 2019:

Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss got the surprise of his life on March 2, when PETA supporters descended on his home for a spirited protest against his company’s cruel fur-and-feather jackets. The activists—braving the winter weather in their warm vegan outerwear—called on Reiss to stop selling jackets that contain fur and down immediately.

PETA supporters descend on the home of Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss for a spirited protest against his company's cruel fur-and-feather jackets.

Updated February 28, 2019:

University of Waterloo students got in on the action, too, staging a protest in front of Canada Goose’s Toronto store. To remind shoppers of the cruelty involved in making every fur-trimmed, down-filled jacket, students displayed 16 illuminated letters that spelled out “Canada Goose Kills.”

University of Waterloo students staging a protest outside Canada Goose’s Toronto store.

Updated December 20, 2018:

If Canada Goose’s Vancouver store thought that we were finished after our spirited demonstration on its doorstep, it was wrong. Now, PETA has teamed up with actor and Vancouver native Sarah Jeffery to cover several of the city’s bike racks outside busy transit stations with ads that show the bloody truth behind the brand’s furry trim and with others that urge everyone to “boycott Canada Goose.”

Updated December 4, 2018:

These posters in New York City have been making people stop in their tracks and think about the animals killed for the fur and feathers used in a Canada Goose jacket.

And we stuck this enormous digital billboard near Detroit’s Moosejaw store, which sells Canada Goose jackets, and it’ll remain there throughout the holiday shopping season.

Updated November 30, 2018:

It seemed like there were more protesters than customers at the grand opening of Canada Goose’s store in Montréal. More than 100 animal advocates crowded the sidewalks outside, protest signs and bullhorns in hand. Thousands of people saw the demonstration, which clearly showed why they should never buy a Canada Goose jacket.

And as the protesters were wrapping up after a successful day, one of them spotted this unmistakable message on a stop sign nearby:

Stop Wearing Canada Goose sign

Updated November 16, 2018:

Everywhere that Canada Goose goes, PETA is sure to follow. When the company tried to open a store in CF Pacific Centre mall in Vancouver, British Columbia, it encountered PETA protesters outside shining a bright light on its cruelty to animals with light boards and video…

… and more PETA supporters inside making sure that everyone heard the message loud and clear.

Updated October 19, 2018:

A pack of nearly naked PETA supporters pounced on Canada Goose’s flagship store in New York City yesterday in one of many “Boycott Canada Goose” rallies that will take place throughout the fall and winter.

Dozens of protesters joined the topless activists, ensuring that the demonstration was spirited and difficult to ignore. Passersby were urged not to give a dime to the cruel company until it stops selling items containing fur and feathers stolen from sensitive coyotes and geese who were violently killed.

Originally posted on October 9, 2018:

To kick off our robust anti–Canada Goose campaign across the U.S. and Canada, an enormous billboard has been erected near the retailer’s flagship store in Chicago. A goose, pleading for his life, now towers over one of Chi-Town’s busiest streets, reminding drivers and pedestrians alike that geese don’t want to die.

Meanwhile, in Short Hills, New Jersey, geese are making their own bus-side plea that’s sure to grab folks’ attention.

We’re taking to the streets, too. PETA supporters are hitting Canada Goose where it hurts—right in front of its stores. Last month, activists disrupted a store opening at The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey.

Prior to that, dozens of activists turned up in front of Canada Goose’s New York City flagship store during the company’s virtual annual meeting.

Online, we’re coming for Canada Goose just as hard. We’re constantly reminding our combined millions of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers to ditch Canada Goose and to tell the company to ban down and fur.

More than 325,800 people have taken action against the company by sending it a message via our action alert.

We’ll continue to up the ante against Canada Goose until it agrees to drop fur and feathers and switch to warm, high-quality, vegan fabrics instead.

Why We’re Raising the Stakes

PETA has released a video exposé revealing that workers at a former Canada Goose down supplier rounded up terrified geese, who piled on top of one another in an attempt to escape, causing suffocation and death.

Workers then grabbed and carried birds by the neck and crammed them into cages so small that they couldn’t sit up fully or extend their wings. While Canada Goose insists that it was no longer using this supplier to source its feathers at the time of the exposé, the farm’s practices were nevertheless far from ethical.

How can anyone be down with this kind of abuse?

Coyotes used for Canada Goose’s fur trim are treated just as cruelly. They can suffer in traps for days before they’re shot or bludgeoned to death. Trapped coyote mothers desperate to get back to their starving pups have even attempted to chew off their own limbs to escape.

Every bit of fur trim and every single feather used to make these jackets came from an animal who didn’t want to die. Canada Goose can tout its pretend ethics all it wants, but there’s no way to obtain coyote fur or down feathers without causing animals terrible suffering and a violent death.

Join Us in Demanding Better From Canada Goose

You’ve seen for yourself what really happens to birds and coyotes used to make Canada Goose jackets. Will you help us stop this abuse?

Fashion should be fun, not fatal. Remind the “Canada Douches” of this.

Please, never support cruelty to animals—shun the company’s vile products.

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