M&S Nabs First-Ever ‘Vegan-Friendly High-Street Retailer Award’

For Immediate Release:

17 January 2019

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

M&S NABS FIRST-EVER ‘VEGAN-FRIENDLY HIGH-STREET RETAILER AWARD’

PETA Honours Company for Plant Kitchen Range, Vegan Shoe Line, and More

London – For not only rising to meet the skyrocketing consumer demand for animal- and eco-friendly vegan food and fashion options but also making them easily identifiable with its new “vegan” logo, Marks & Spencer is being recognised with a Vegan-Friendly High-Street Retailer Award from PETA.

The first-of-its-kind award follows the kick-off of the company’s expanded animal-free footwear collection, which includes more than 350 all-vegan shoes, trainers, and slippers, as well as the launch of its new Plant Kitchen range, which features a selection of more than 50 vegan products, including No Beef Burgers, Cauliflower Popcorn Bites and the high street’s first vegan coleslaw. All carry its eye-catching logo, which makes vegan food and fashion items identifiable at a glance. Other recent initiatives by Marks & Spencer that benefit animals include its introduction of an extensive range of non-dairy milks and its popular cashmilon™ wool-free knitwear range.

“From its fresh, ready-made vegan fare to its stylish animal-free accessories, Marks & Spencer is ticking all the boxes when it comes to ethical food and fashion,” says PETA Director of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor. “PETA is recognising this iconic high-street retailer for keeping step with the burgeoning demand for animal-friendly options and for helping to move Britain in a kinder and more sustainable direction with its easily identifiable ‘vegan’ labelling.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or wear” – notes that turning animal skin into garments and accessories requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, which are harmful to the planet. The Pulse of the Fashion Industry report revealed that three of the four most environmentally damaging materials are animal-derived. Leather was identified as the most polluting material in fashion, with double the impact of polyurethane (PU) leather.

Vegan meals are also greener – the United Nations has said that a global switch to vegan eating is necessary to offset the worst effects of climate change. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year a terrifying, bloody death in today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries – and reduces his or her own risk of suffering from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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