The international animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has launched a fashion award for the US market for the first time. As a supplement to the already established British awards, the organization wants to “recognize pioneers in the industry who are making fashion more animal and environmentally friendly”.
One of the winners of this first award ceremony was the American reality TV star Kylie Jenner. The launch party of her recently launched fashion label ‘Khy’, to which many guests appeared in the brand’s vegan outfits, earned Jenner the award for ‘Best Vegan Fashion Moment’. The vegan shoulder bag ‘Horsebit 1955’ from the Italian luxury fashion house Gucci was named ‘Best Luxury Product’.
Italian luxury brand Versace won the ‘Hottest Vegan Leather Product’ award for its croc-look ‘Cloquet’ jacket, made from recycled polyester and nylon. British designer Stella McCartney won the ‘Best Vegan Heel’ award for her ‘Ryder’ stiletto boots.
The award for best men’s fashion went to the US clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch for its “large selection of vegan men’s fashion”. US brand Gap was also named the most vegan-friendly fashion company due to the variety of animal-free products in the ‘Vegan-Leather Shop’ and ‘CashSoft Shop’ offered on its website.
Other winners include US fashion label Aupen, which won the Most Wanted Award for its celebrity-favorite vegan bags, and Brooklyn-based Alice + Olivia, whose vegan leather mini dress won Best Vegan Exotic Skin Staple’ won. A vegan suede jacket from Italian fashion house Max Mara was named ‘Best Vegan Suede Staple’ and Canadian clothing retailer Canada Goose’s Tencel jacket was named ‘Coolest Warmest Down-Free Fashion’.
‘Dishonorable’ companies: H&M and Reformation
In addition to the award winners, PETA also recognized “two dishonorable” companies. Swedish clothing giant H&M was named ‘Villain of the Year’ for its “support of the down industry.” The title of ‘Greenwasher of the Year’ was given to the Los Angeles-based fashion label Reformation, which markets itself as a “sustainable company while at the same time selling cruel and environmentally harmful materials that come from animals.”
This article was updated at 8:43 a.m. on December 22 to include a response from Reformation to PETA’s claims.
In a statement to FashionUnited, a spokeswoman for the company said: “Reformation wholeheartedly rejects this completely false characterization. There is a tremendous amount of misinformation about what is actually sustainable in fashion. That’s why Reformation regularly publishes detailed reports on its actions. This is the exact opposite of greenwashing, which by definition means making unsubstantiated claims and profiting from them.”
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk. Translated and edited by Heide Halama.