British high street store John Lewis is the latest to impose a permanent ban on the use of angora wool in its future collections, following the release of footage filmed by PETA last month, which shows angora rabbits being inhumanely treated by Chinese farmers, reports instyle.co.uk.
“As a responsible retailer, John Lewis is committed to ensuring high standards of animal welfare in all stages of the supply chain, and we require our suppliers to do likewise,” said a John Lewis spokesperson, according to the Telegraph. “As part of our ongoing programme of supply chain management, we recently contacted suppliers about concerns raised by customers around the sourcing of angora wool. While we found no evidence of unacceptable animal welfare practices, we have decided to no longer include angora in future John Lewis’ own brand or branded products.”
Asos was the first store that stopped using angora products back in December 2014, and it wasn’t long before Calvin Klein, Marks & Spencer and Next followed suit. Other brands that have put a stop to producing angora products include Zara, Topshop, New Look and Forever 21.
Although brands like John Lewis and Asos have decided to never use angora again, stores that have halted production, but not permanently banned angora products, include Zara and Gap.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2014.
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