The animal protection organization Peta has requested that the shoe and fashion label Ugg remove the claim from its website that the animals whose skin, down and wool Ugg uses in its products are treated “humanely”. Peta has pointed out that this claim is misleading because Ugg has “no way to guarantee this,” the organization wrote in a statement.
Ugg also dropped the claim that its suppliers ensure that “animals are free from hunger and thirst, discomfort, pain, fear and distress.”
“By removing these baseless and misleading claims, Ugg has admitted that there is nothing ‘humane’ about killing sheep, cows and geese and using their skin and feathers for boots and jackets,” says Tracy Reiman, Executive Vice President Peta. Instead Peta calls for the use of vegan materials, which customers are increasingly demanding.
Animal fur and skins are only by-products in the meat industry, but their production is still based on animal suffering. Even animal welfare standards – such as the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) – are no guarantee that animal suffering can be ruled out. Peta has just revealed how, at a certified farm, geese were left covered in gaping and bloody wounds before being stabbed in the neck and having their feet cut off while they were still conscious. In addition, the buyers of such by-products generally have less influence on the keeping of the animals because they do not make up the main turnover. According to Peta, the only solution is to avoid using animal materials.