Great News for Alpacas! Smith & Caughey’s Bans Alpaca Wool Following PETA Exposé
After seeing how alpacas are abused for their wool, New Zealand department store Smith & Caughey’s has made the compassionate decision to remove all alpaca wool from its online store and ban it from its stock.
The compassionate decision came swiftly after PETA got in touch with the store with undercover video footage from the industry, showing that workers hit, kicked, tied down, and mutilated pregnant, crying alpacas, who were so fearful of being pinned down and shorn that they vomited.
This was just some of the abuse documented by investigators at Mallkini, the world’s largest privately owned alpaca farm, near Muñani, Peru. The farm is owned by the Michell Group, the world’s largest exporter of alpaca clothing and yarn.
Watch this video to see why you should never buy anything made from alpaca wool:
Smith & Caughey’s is Auckland’s oldest department store, and this new policy to ban alpaca wool proves that it’s an industry leader.
Other international brands are also taking action: Esprit, which will now phase out alpaca; Gap Inc, which owns Banana Republic, Athleta, and other brands; and the H&M Group, including its eight brands, have all cut ties with the Michell Group, which had previously supplied them with alpaca wool.
We hope Smith & Caughey’s compassionate decision inspires other brands and retailers to follow suit.
Help Alpacas!
The best thing you can do for alpacas is refuse to buy anything made of their fleece. It’s easy to check the label when you’re shopping. If it includes the word “alpaca”, leave it on the shelf.
Please also ask Anthropologie to drop alpaca items immediately in favour of animal-friendly materials.
