'Push Fashion Forward': PETA Announces $1m Competition for Vegan Wool
PETA is setting out to save sheep by encouraging the development of a vegan wool material that is visually, texturally, and functionally akin to or better than sheep’s wool.
Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has announced a competition with a $1 million grand prize to encourage designers to create a vegan alternative to sheep’s wool.
The winner of the Vegan Wool Challenge Award will be the first entrant to develop a material that mimics the look, feels and performance of sheep’s wool and is adopted and sold by a major fashion brand.
“From apples and hemp to kombucha tea and cacti, there seems to be no limit to what designers can use to create wonderful, animal-free clothing and accessories,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is delighted to offer innovative minds a big boost that will protect sheep, push fashion forward, and help stop the environmental degradation caused by animal agriculture.”
Credit: PETA
While the fur industry has come under fire from brands and consumers due to its rampant animal abuse, the wool industry is yet to receive the same public scrutiny. Investigations into 117 global wool operations have revealed cruelty to sheep, while 14 exposés found that even on “sustainable” and “responsible” farms, workers beat, stomped on, cut up, and slit the throats of conscious, struggling sheep. All sheep who are bred for wool are also slaughtered and sold as ‘meat’ when their wool is no longer financially viable.
Credit: PETA
Wool is often touted as a ‘natural’ material, leading people to believe that it is eco-friendly. The reality is that wool, being part of the animal agriculture industry, actually produces massive amounts of methane, erodes soil, and contaminates waterways. In 2017, wool was ranked the fourth most damaging material for the environment, according to the Pulse Report by the Global Fashion Agenda.
Credit: PETA
PETA’s competition comes at a time when animal-free biomaterials that are more sustainable than leather, silk, wool, down, fur, or exotic skin are growing in popularity due to their ethical and environmental benefits. Around $2.3bn has been invested in the space since 2015, according to the nonprofit organization Material Innovation Initiative.
Designers are creating high-quality alternatives to leather using natural substances, using everything from Leucaena tree pods to mycelium, the root structure of fungi. Examples of existing wool alternatives include Altag, a natural material recycled from agricultural waste, which can be manipulated to mimic animal-based wool, and Wegenwool, a plant-derived material that uses a blend of 30 percent Calotropis fibers with 70 percent organic cotton.
The winning entry of the Vegan Wool Challenge must be a biodegradable or recyclable biomaterial, according to PETA. Contestants have until July 2023 to submit a fabric sample and production plan. Read the full details here.
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