Clothing brands agree to stop selling ‘cruel’ angora wool - PHOTO+VIDEO

More than 35 clothing brands have agreed to stop selling angora wool after a campaign by animal rights activists.Retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Calvin Klein, H&M and Topshop, came to the agreement after horrific videos of the wool’s manufacturing process came to light two weeks ago, according to the Sunday Times.Angora wool is loved for its soft, fluffy texture and is used for hats, gloves, scarfs and sweaters across the world.But graphic videos which allegedly show farm workers plucking the fur from clearly distressed live rabbits have changed the attitudes of consumers and retailers alike.‘Retailers now understand selling angora is just as unacceptable as selling fur,’ said Yvonne Taylor of Peta, the animal welfare organisation which took the footage.‘While we welcome their decision to stop sourcing angora products, we would urge them to also pull existing angora stock.’A series of social media campaigns have helped to change retailers’ minds with Topshop saying it would stop selling angora products after more than 100,000 people petitioned the company.Peta reports that there is no humane way of producing the wool, the majority of which is harvested in China where there are loose restrictions on cruelty to animals.(metro.co.uk)ANN.Az