PETA's Enduring Impact on the Fashion Industry

By Camilla Rydzek

Ahead of PETA’s 40th anniversary next month, Fashion Roundtable examines the organisation’s turbulent relationship with the fashion industry— from their 1993 raid of the Vogue offices to last week’s announcement that iconic British fashion label Paul Smith will ban exotic skins from all its future collections. It cannot be denied that PETA’s bold protests have irrevocably shaped the fashion industry’s policy and viewpoint on animal welfare.

PETA (‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’) has grown from its humble beginnings in a basement headquarters, to the largest animal rights organisation in the world today. In the past 40 years, it has become a controversial household name with its best-known work including a string of undercover investigations infiltrating the sites of animal cruelty. PETA’s medium of choice is often video and image footage that depicts - in unflinching, graphic detail - the atrocious way in which animals are treated. It has also made headline news with its extreme forms of protesting, which in recent years has included nudity. Even still, their methods have proven to be very effective methods of lobbying companies, governments and the public to change their behaviours and viewpoint regarding animal welfare.

Speaking on the impact of PETA over the past four decades, its founder Ingrid Newkirk comments that while a lot of positives have been achieved, there is still a long way to go – especially in fashion. In her eyes, the use of animal derived fibres in clothing will always be unethical.

PETA’s turbulent relationship with the fashion industry is marked with infamous acts of protest. Most memorable, perhaps, is the organisation’s 1993 raid of Vogue’s New York offices where they protested against the use of fur in fashion. Members of the organisation, including Kate Pierson of the B-52s band, evaded security and ended up taking over the reception, answering incoming phone calls with the phrase “We’re closed today due to cruelty”. It’s thought Anna Wintour was forced to find refuge in the back room of the office.

In 1994, the organisation also occupied Calvin Klein’s New York office and met with the designer, who only one month later became the first major fashion player to stop using fur in his collections. The same year PETA also launched its infamous “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” campaign, featuring supermodels Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford protesting for animal rights in the nude. 

In the years that followed, other designers have made similar public pledges— including Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Burberry, Gucci, Versace and many more. Wool has also been included in this category, with specific focus having been drawn to the treatment of angora rabbits. After releasing an exposé in 2013, 330 brands worldwide banned angora— including H&M, Gap, and Inditex— which lead to a tangible 85% decrease in exports within only one year.

While individual pledges are important, the systematic re-evaluation of fur was achieved in September 2018, when London Fashion Week made the decision to ban fur from its catwalks. 

The use of exotic skin, which includes python, crocodile and kangaroo, has also long been on PETA’s radar. In 2009 H&M banned all products made from exotic skins from its 1,800 stores worldwide, following an exposé in the exotic skin trade by the organisation. Following a slew of other design houses, just last week Paul Smith have banned exotic skins from future collections.

PETA’s director of corporate projects Yvonne Taylor has applauded the decision, saying: “Behind every accessory made with kangaroo, python, or alligator skin is an animal who did not want to die. Paul Smith's decision to ban exotic skins will spare remarkable animals immense suffering.”

Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA, is optimistic about the increasing adoption of “wonderful innovations” in fabric technology- this includes natural material alternatives for the likes of leather, fur, mohair, cashmere – that make the industry’s future look bright. To put some facts behind this sentiment; one needs to consider that the global market for leather alternatives is set to grow to $85 billion over the next decade, while the Global artificial fur market size will grow by $129.21 million between 2019-2023. 

To support this effort the organization launched its PETA Approved Vegan sign on clothing and shoes with mainstream brands (such as Topshop and The Kooples) having designed vegan-friendly capsule collections— as of 2019, 1,000 brands signed up for the certification.

So, 40 years after its inception, what is PETA's legacy? Its activism has reverberated through fashion and other industries, to the point where the magnitude of its impact goes beyond these pledges from designers. There is no doubt that PETA has, at least to some extent, been a part of the rise of vegetarianism and veganism over the past few years— in the UK alone, 600,000 people identified as vegan in 2018. 

Anecdotally, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk reflects on this change in attitudes by drawing attention to that fact that 40 years ago, if you wanted non-dairy milk you had to mix it yourself with a powder and water. Today, the dairy alternative (or “mylk”) market is worth $1.2 billion, and Oat mylk has become as in-demand as the green smoothie.

As consumers are becoming “greener” and more conscious of their power to vote with their wallets, a new market for more ethical and sustainable alternatives to animal derived fibres is beginning to take shape. If that doesn’t prove how we are turning away from animal-derived fibres, just take a cue from the Queen. According to her majesty’s official dresser, Angela Kelly, Her Royal Highness is now going fur-free— this is perhaps PETA’s biggest stamp of approval to date.