PETA Activists Tell Kathmandu: ‘I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Down’

Posted on 21 December 2016 at 4:45PM by PETA Australia

Three daring PETA supporters descended on a Kathmandu store on the Sunshine Coast to ask the company to stop using cruelly obtained down feathers in its products.

Wearing Santa hats, the activists made it clear that down-feather jackets would not be on their Christmas lists this year, and their banner proclaimed, “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Down”.

While Kathmandu claims to use “100% ethically sourced” feathers that are certified by the “Responsible Down Standard” (RDS), PETA affiliates visited farms connected to RDS-certified companies in China – the country from which Kathmandu obtains its down – and uncovered shocking cruelty that casts serious doubt on this certification.

Eyewitnesses saw workers rip the feathers out of fully conscious geese, leaving open, bloody wounds.

So far, more than 70,000 supporters of PETA and its affiliates have written to Kathmandu asking it to stop selling down.

“There’s simply no guarantee that the feathers inside any down jacket weren’t ripped out of a screaming goose. We’re asking Kathmandu to be kind to geese and ducks this Christmas and all year round by using superior synthetics instead.”

– Ashley Fruno, PETA Associate Director of Campaigns

Many major international brands, including Topshop, ASOS, Primark, and Dr Martens, have stopped selling down in favour of high-tech synthetics that are compassionate, warm, hypoallergenic, and insulating even when wet.