Alpaca Wool Banned By Leading Retailers After First of its Kind Investigation Into the Industry
Uniqlo among those shunning the cruel fabric, after exposé shows roughly sheared animals bleeding, vomiting, and being cut open.
Credit: PETA
UNIQLO has announced that it will no longer sell alpaca wool in any of its 2,200 stores worldwide.
The move comes after a first of its kind investigation into the industry was released earlier this year, which revealed animal abuse on the world’s largest privately owned alpaca farm in Peru.
The graphic undercover footage shows the reality of industrial wool farming. Workers are seen slamming alpacas onto tables, tying them to a stretching device, and pulling so hard that their legs are nearly wrenched from their sockets. Terrified, the animals spit, cry out, and vomit, as workers grab them by the ears, roughly shear their hair, and crudely stitch up wounds.
“UNIQLO’s decision will go a long way in helping to prevent vulnerable alpacas from being abused and shorn bloody for their wool,” says Tracy Reiman, of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who were behind the investigation. “Kind consumers can do their part to reject this cruelty by opting for vegan clothing, which no animal had to suffer for”.
UNIQLO follows other retailers including Esprit and Overstock in ditching alpaca wool.
In addition to animal cruelty, alpaca wool also harms the environment - it is ranked by the Higg Materials Sustainability Index as the second most damaging material after silk, and six times as harmful as alternatives like polyester.
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.