Inditex and Gap halt the production of angora products

Spanish based company Inditex has stopped the production of angora

products for all brands, after growing pressure from animals rights group Peta and their consumers, requesting the parent company of Zara to stop using angora wool.

Last week over 280,000 people had signed an online petition via Sumofus.org “Save the Bunnies” calling for Zara to stop the production of its angora products and follow the example of other high street retailers like Topshop, New Look and Next who halted sourcing of angora wool after Peta released undercover footage of animal cruelty occurring in Chinese angora fur farms.

Inditex updated its policy on products of animal origin, adding that the company “completely agrees with the complaint against the maltreatment of angora rabbits. From its position of Zero Tolerance against cruelty to animals, Inditex obliges its suppliers to follow the recommendations of the different organizations in defense of the animals...the farms must have facilities to guarantee decent life conditions for the animals.”

Inditex responds to online petition and pressure from Peta

The Spanish based company added that after the recent complaints, Inditex is “carrying out visits to these farms and putting in place an independent certification process of all angora wool farms in its supply chain to confirm the compliance with Inditex requirements” The company concluded that no new orders will be placed with “any supplier for products containing angora wool until each relevant facility has been previously inspected again and the findings reviewed.”

American based company Gap has also halted the sourcing of its angora products, after being called out by Peta and consumers for not responding swiftly to the video depicting the cruelty of angora wool farming. Debbi Mesloh, spokeswoman for the company said last week: “Ensuring the fair and humane treatment of animals has been part of our brand’s history, and we’re committed to seeking to ensure that our policies and procedures are adhered to as products are created...Gap is immediately suspending orders for products made with angora.”

H&M has decided to go one step further and after stopping the sourcing of angora wool, the company has chosen to “permanently end production of angora...effective immediately.” As a 'responsible' company, H&M was one of the first fashion retailers to respond to Peta's video and halted the production of angora products on November 27.

So far over 30 fashion companies have responded to Peta's video and ongoing campaign to stop using angora fur, with some retailers removing existing stock from its stores, other brands banning it from all future collections, while other retailers have committed to halting the production of angora products temporarily to determine whether or not their source suppliers comes from a 'rabbit-friendly' angora farm.