PETA launches one million dollar vegan wool challenge

Animal welfare organisation PETA has launched a million dollar vegan wool challenge.

PETA, which is the world's largest animal rights organisation, said the wool industry often leaves sheep shaken and bloody in shearing sheds after wool shearing procedures. By launching a challenge with significant prize funding it hopes to encourage the development of a vegan wool material that’s visually, texturally, and functionally akin to or better than sheep’s wool.

Vegan wool should be scalable and replace virgin wool

PETA said the innovative material should be able to serve as a wool replacement that major apparel brands could incorporate into their clothing lines, and therefore scalable.

PETA judges will review submissions and award 1 million dollars to the first individual, group, or company that PETA determines has successfully created a bio-based natural fiber or bioengineered fiber with 100 percent traceable inputs, have low pilling, be soft to the touch, is producible in multiple weights, be biodegradable, and, perhaps most importantly, have the look, feel and perform like wool.

For its Phase 2 judging, the material must be adopted and sold by a major clothing brand, which PETA said should be a top 10 global retail brand. The vegan wool must be able to be manufactured in sufficient quantities to be sold as a standard inventory item by at least one of the top 10 global clothing retail brands. At least one of the top 10 global clothing retail brands successfully markets the product to consumers.

Entrants have until 28 July 2023 to send a sample and initial online application to PETA's American headquarters. For more information visit www.peta.org.