Wool Going the Way of Fur? 71% Say It’s Just as Cruel in New Poll Following NYFW Runway Clash

For Immediate Release:
October 1, 2026

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

After video footage went viral of PETA supporters disrupting the COS runway show at New York Fashion Week and shouting “Sheep are bloodied and beaten for wool,” a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of PETA found that 71% of U.S. adults agree that, from an animal-welfare perspective, raising and slaughtering animals for wool is just as cruel as doing so for fur.

The survey also found that 81% of those who had heard about PETA’s disruption said the protest increased their awareness of concerns about sheep welfare in the wool industry and more than 40% of Americans said they were less likely to buy wool after learning about PETA’s New York Fashion Week protest of cruelty to sheep in wool production (42%) and would view a retailer more positively if it stopped selling wool (45%).

On September 13, wool’s use in fashion drew fresh scrutiny when then-CEO of theCouncil of Fashion Designers of America, Steven Kolb, physically restrained PETA supporters as they spoke out about violence against sheep in the wool industry. The NYFW protest came just after PETA Asia released new footage from a farm that sold wool through a contracted supplier of COS’s parent company, H&M Group, showing workers kicking and stomping on terrified sheep, dragging them by their legs, and leaving them with gaping wounds after crude shearing.

“Fashion rightly turned its back on fur, and this poll shows that Americans recognize wool comes at an equally cruel cost to sheep,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on H&M Group to read the room and ban wool and on everyone not to buy it.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a sheep is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Survey Method:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of PETA from September 22–23, 2026, among 2,012 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ± 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact PETA at 757-622-7382 or [email protected].