Breaking: PETA Supporter Storms Paul Smith Book Tour Demanding Mohair Ban

London – This evening (10 September), a PETA supporter stormed the stage at Paul Smith’s Threads talk at Queen Elizabeth Hall with a sign proclaiming, “Goats Beaten and Left Bleeding for Paul Smith Mohair.” The animal ally called on the fashion designer to drop cruel mohair while describing how goats are abused and violently killed for their hair used in his designs, before being removed and tackled by security.

Footage of the disruption is available here.

The action follows a damning PETA Asia investigation into mohair operations in South Africa and Lesotho – including a facility with ties to Paul Smith’s mohair supplier – that documented workers violently striking goats with brooms and poles, dragging struggling goats by their horns and legs, and pinning goats to the ground as the panicked animals cried out. The footage shows workers hauling goats around by their tails and shearing them so roughly that some were left wounded and bleeding. One goat suffering from a large, gaping wound was shorn as he screamed in pain, and the bodies of several dead goats, including a baby, were filmed discarded in a heap at a misleadingly named “responsible” mohair facility.

“Each thread of mohair in Paul Smith’s collections tells a terrifying tale of goats who were beaten and bloodied for sweaters and suits,” says PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen. “PETA is calling on Smith to join the hundreds of other brands that have banned mohair, and reminds shoppers that the only clothing labels they can trust are the ones that read ‘vegan’.”

Mother goats form strong bonds with their babies, and both mother and baby recognise each other’s distinct calls – or “bleats” – shortly after birth. In the mohair industry, goat kids are shorn starting as early as 6 months old. As soon as their hair quality declines or they’re deemed no longer useful, the goats are killed, well short of their natural 10-year life expectancy.

Hundreds of top brands and retailers – including Helmut Lang, G-Star, Gap, Fred Perry, Barbour, UNIQLO, and Zara – have banned mohair. PETA encourages everyone to help spare goats a miserable life and violent death by urging Paul Smith to drop mohair and always leaving it on the rack.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear or abuse in any other way” – points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a goat is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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