Anaïs Gallagher and PETA Kick Off Vegan Shoe Design Competition
For Immediate Release:
26 January 2015
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 235; [email protected]
ANAÏS GALLAGHER AND PETA KICK OFF VEGAN SHOE DESIGN COMPETITION
Contest With Footwear Brand Bourgeois Boheme to Showcase Top New Talent in Cruelty-Free Fashion
London – This spring, new fashion design students – and anyone else who’s ever dreamed of following in Stella McCartney’s footsteps – can get a jump start on their design careers, thanks to a new contest launched by PETA and London-based vegan shoe label Bourgeois Boheme. The competition offers aspiring designers the chance to be the creative force behind a new animal-free unisex sneaker – and help shape the future of cruelty-free footwear. Entrants can upload their designs to PETA.org.uk until 7 March, when Bourgeois Boheme will shortlist the top 10. Celebrity judge and teen model Anaïs Gallagher will then choose the winning design, which will go into production and hit the market in time for autumn/winter 2016.
“I love fashion and I love animals – so this competition is a win-win”, says Anaïs. “I’m happy to join PETA in celebrating new designers who are leading the way in cruelty-free fashion and cannot wait to strut around town in the winning pair of shoes!”
The environmental footprint of animal-free fabrics – regardless of whether they are natural or synthetic – is minor compared to the devastation caused by animal farming. From the carbon emissions produced by cattle to the toxic tannery chemicals that pollute nearby water supplies, the leather industry has a terrible impact on the Earth. PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear,” also recently exposed a thriving dog-leather industry in China in which the animals’ skins are mislabelled as leather made from other species and exported around the world to unsuspecting consumers. In addition to being “greener”, using vegan materials also spares animals cruelty such as castration, branding and tail-docking.
Bourgeois Boheme are one of a growing number of designers and retailers – including Stella McCartney, H&M, Vivienne Westwood and ASOS – who are recognising the huge demand for animal-friendly fashions and offering their customers shoes, bags, purses and belts made from modern, high-quality synthetics which don’t cost the Earth or harm a hair on an animal’s head.
For more information and to enter the contest, please click here or visit PETA.org.uk.