Wireless Wednesday Live: Animal safe apparel with Sara Britt, Manager of Corporate Responsibility for PETA

More than a billion cows, sheep, and other animals are killed each year for their skins, and most endure the horrors of factory farming—they’re mutilated without painkillers, crammed into filthy pens, and shipped off to terrifying deaths in slaughterhouses.

Rick talks with Sara Britt:

The leather industry also devastates the environment. Turning dead skin into leather so it won’t decompose requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, including formaldehyde and cyanide, which have contaminated fresh water supplies and sickened and killed countless people. Animal agriculture as a whole is responsible for nearly one-fifth of all man-made greenhouse-gas emissions, making it a leading cause of the climate catastrophe and along with it, is causing natural disasters like the fires raging in California. That’s why we’re urging anyone who cares about sustainability to never buy anything that comes from an animal and instead, choose luxurious, durable, vegan clothing and accessories this winter and beyond.

People should check the label when they’re shopping. If it includes the word “leather,” “wool,” “down,” “angora,” or indicates that it contains any other skin, feather, or bits and pieces of an animal, they should leave it on the shelf. Luckily, fashionable vegan options abound these days, and PETA offers free downloadable shopping guides for vegan clothing and accessories at PETA.org.

There are tons of beautiful, eco-friendly, and cruelty-free fabrics available these days. We have sustainable vegan leather made from apples, mushrooms, and other plants, luxurious fabrics made from soybeans and coconuts, and even vegan down puffer coats made from wildflowers and recycled water bottles. These options leave animals and the planet in peace, and they look great, too!

Topics:

Why should people shop for animal-free clothing?

What’s so harmful about leather and other animal-derived materials?

How can shoppers find vegan clothing and accessories in stores and online?

What other materials can take the place of leather?

Where can our listeners go for more information?

Sara Britt is associate director of Corporate Responsibility at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In this role, she leads a team of officers in pushing for the enaction of animal-friendly policies in national and multinational companies. Her achievements include convincing hundreds of fashion brands to stop selling fur, cashmere, and other animal skins and wools, and persuading more than 100 airports, financial institutions, and self-storage companies to ban glue traps.