Lululemon Shareholders to Face Continued Flack Over Goose-Down Sales

PETA Calls for Retailer to Swap Birds’ Feathers With Innovative Cruelty-Free Insulation

For Immediate Release:
June 7, 2017

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

The down filling in jackets often comes from suffering birds who spend their entire lives in filthy, crowded conditions: That’s the message that PETA, as a lululemon shareholder, will take to the athletic apparel company’s annual meeting on June 8.

lululemon obtains some of its down from China, where there are no regulations to protect animals and no penalties for abusing them. A PETA exposé of the down industry in China documented that workers left sick and injured chicks, geese, and ducks to die slowly. Dead birds were found decaying in crates and ponds or tossed outside like trash.

“There’s simply no way to ensure that birds aren’t suffering when they’re used for down,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on lululemon to live up to its claim of seeking an ‘elevated world’ and use exclusively the high-tech insulating materials that it already offers in many of its jackets.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—suggests using modern, cruelty-free insulating fabrics—such as PrimaLoft, Thinsulate, lyocell, bamboo, and others—which are warm, cozy, and allergen-free. And unlike down, they don’t collect dust and mold and they even insulate when wet.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.