Ibiza Fashion Festival Bans Wool After PETA Exposes Abuse
Ibiza Fashion Festival has banned wool and other animal-derived knits from its runways following investigations exposing routine cruelty in the global wool industry.
The sustainability-led event confirmed that sheep’s wool, mohair, angora, cashmere, and alpaca will no longer feature in its shows – which is part of a wider shift away from animal exploitation in fashion.
Violence and Suffering
PETA exposés have documented widespread abuse across wool supply chains. A recent exposé revealed reality behind wool products often marketed as “natural” or “ethical”. Footage from a NATIVA-certified South African wool operation showed sheep being kicked and stomped on, dragged by their legs, and left bleeding after hurried, rough shearing.
In the mohair trade, workers have been filmed beating goats with sticks and forcibly restraining them as they cried out. On cashmere farms, animals have their hair torn out with metal combs, leaving them with open, bloody wounds. For angora, terrified rabbits have their fur ripped out of their bodies.
Wool Belongs to Sheep
Animals’ wool is not fabric – it belongs to the animals who were born with it. We’re involve exploiting animals.
Ibiza Fashion Festival CEO Karen Windle said the ban reflects changing expectations within the fashion industry.
“Cruelty to animals has no place on the runway,” she said. “By implementing natural, sustainably made animal-free materials, our designers are showing that a more conscious fashion industry is possible.”
Plant wools – made with everything from cotton and linen to orange peel and lavender – are seeing a sharp rise in popularity, and the fashion industry is increasingly realising there is no excuse to pay for animal abuse.
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