PETA Global 2018 Issue 2

Q & A

Mena Suvari: ‘In the TRASH It Goes!’ American Beauty star Mena Suvari describes herself as an “actorvist,” and that’s exactly right. She’s an outspoken fur foe and vegan. She made headlines in the US when she attended a Fur-Free Friday protest in Beverly Hills as well as when she sent an urgent letter to Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas in support of a bill to ban fur farming. Now, she’s taking aim at the cruel down industry. PETA’s exposés have revealed that workers pin down fully conscious, petrified geese and rip their feathers out, racing through the job because it pays by volume, not by the hour. In an interview with PETA, Mena explains why she tossed out her down pillows and agreed to participate in an upcoming print ad campaign, encouraging everyone to shop cruelty-free. PETA: What persuaded you to ditch down? Mena: I just remember sitting in my home, and I was watching one of the videos showing these geese who were having their feathers ripped out while they were still alive, and they were screaming. And I get emotional even now telling the story. And it was really, really horrifying. It was devastating to me. Some of these birds with gaping holes where their feathers had been plucked out …. I couldn’t believe that we as human beings can take part in something like this and be seemingly unaffected by what we’re doing. I went upstairs, and I realized, to my own horror, that my pillows and my comforter were filled with down PETA: What did you do? Mena: I just … took all of it, and I put it all in garbage bags, and I just had to get rid of it. I could not accept myself after watching that video, laying my head down on these pillows and going to sleep that night. PETA: Could you describe your evolution as an animal advocate? Mena: I first went vegan, and then I went cruelty-free in every part of my life. Whether it’s … my makeup or my hair products, all my clothing, accessories – everything – and it just makes me feel better. What I would love for people to take away from [PETA’s] campaign is just to start thinking and continue that process. Because, as I’ve learned, there are so many other options. There’s so many alternatives.

Buy Mena's T-shirt at PETACatalog.org . J

Take Action Now Ditch down in favor of cozy, high-tech synthetic fillers, such as Plumtech, PrimaLoft, ThermoBall, or Thinsulate.

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