PETA Global 2020 Issue 1

From Pineapples to Tea, THE NEW

P E T A ’ s 2 0 2 0 V i s i o n • P E T A ’ s 2 0 2 0 V i s i o n •

LEATHER Is Animal-Free

India cow photos: © PETA/Karremann • Torn paper border: © iStock.com/yasinguneysu

Pineapple: © Piñatex • Bags: © GUNAS New York • Shoes: © BOSS • Blue shoes: © Veerah

Kaley Cuoco’s Passion for Vegan Fashion Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco and Fashion Police cohost and celebrity stylist Brad Goreski teamed up to showcase some of their favorite vegan fashions – from a shimmery “shearling” jacket to a supple, non-animal leather jumpsuit – in a lighthearted video for PETA (at PETA.org/KaleyAndBrad ). “To me, [fur is] the most absurd thing in the world,” Kaley says. “There is no need for it. There’s so many good materials out there that are vegan and that look gorgeous and feel delicious.” Like these compassionate stars’ cute PETA tees? Snap them up at PETA.org/Store .

S how of hands: Howmany of you remember those novelty paper dresses that were a big hit in the late 1960s? Believe it or not, they’re back – only today’s “paper” clothes are here to stay. Designers now use wood pulp and many other innovative materials – including pineapple leaves, coffee grounds, kombucha, grapes, mushrooms, and the fruit mash left behind in the cider-pressing process – instead of animal skins.

hungry, parched, exhausted, lame, or ill, many collapsed. Herders then mercilessly broke their tails and smeared chili peppers into their eyes in order to inflict enough pain to keep them moving. Others were crammed into transport trucks so crowded that they arrived with broken bones or suffocated. At the slaughterhouse, their throats were cut with dull knives in full view of other cows, and fully conscious, they were left to bleed to death. Downed cows rested their heads on the bodies of others, desperately seeking comfort amid the frightening chaos. Leather Industry in a Death Spiral Following the exposé, PETA and its international affiliates held eye-catching protests, pressured government agencies to enforce animal protection laws, urged Indian schools to switch to nonleather shoes for their uniforms, and pushed hard to get global retail giants – including Gucci, Kenneth Cole, Florsheim, Nike, and Reebok – to stop using Indian leather in their products. Now, 20 years later, the astronomical demand for cruelty-free, eco-friendly, vegan leather is one reason why animal-leather processors around the world are going out of business. According to an industry insider, the Australian “leather industry is in one of the worst depressions it’s been in in living memory.” In Delhi, the price of skins has taken such a nosedive that people who used to buy animal carcasses so that they could sell the skins now demand payment to haul dead animals away.

Fruit leather: Veerah makes pumps

Vegan leather has arrived: In the first half of 2019, sales of vegan clothing, accessories, and footwear increased 54% at US stores. And British retailer Marks & Spencer vastly expanded its vegan footwear collection to more than 350 styles after noticing that searches for vegan products on its website had spiked 200%.

from apple pulp, BOSS makes sneakers from pineapple leaf fiber, and PETA Business Friend GUNAS makes vegan handbags, which Latin GRAMMYs presenters and performers received in the backstage gift lounge.

I Slept With Chrissie Hynde

These exciting changes didn’t happen overnight, of course. PETA has been campaigning for decades to end the use of not just leather but all animal-derived materials. PETA the First to Expose Secret Suffering Behind Leather PETA President Ingrid Newkirk and German filmmaker Manfred Karremann first exposed India’s horrific leather trade in 1999, returning to Ingrid’s childhood home to investigate the killing of millions of cows for their flesh and, even more lucratively, their skin, which is exported all around the world. They documented cows subjected to grueling death marches, forced to trudge for up to 100 miles (161 km) to states where slaughter is permitted. Desperately

“Deconstructing” leather clothes in the window of the Gap flagship store in New York City got rocker Chrissie Hynde and me thrown into jail, where we shared a cell overnight. We didn’t get much sleep, because officers kept waking us up to have their photos taken with Chrissie and ask her to sing “Back on the Chain Gang.” The next day, Gap dropped the charges and agreed to end leather imports from India and China. – Ingrid Newkirk

Take Action Now Visit PETA.org/Living for resources to help you shop cruelty-free.

Global 19

PETA’S 2020 VISION: ANIMALS ARE NOT OURS TO WEAR

18

SOLE SURVIVOR