Harris Tweed Urged to Weed Out Animal Exploitation and Switch to Eco-Friendly Hemp Wool

20 August 2025

Harris Tweed Urged to Weed Out Animal Exploitation and Switch to Eco-Friendly Hemp Wool

Stornoway, Scotland – With more shoppers than ever on high alert over the climate crisis and seeking eco- and animal-friendly products, PETA has sent a letter to the Harris Tweed Authority’s CEO urging the brand to transition from sheep’s fleece – which wreaks havoc on the environment and causes sheep immense suffering – to the superior plant-wool, hemp, and rebrand as Harris Weed.

Credit: PETA.

“If Harris Tweed hopes to survive another 200 years, it must move with the times by switching to kind plant wool that no sheep has to suffer for,” says PETA Vice President of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor. “PETA urges this iconic brand to blaze a trail of compassion and future-proof its business by embracing innovative plant wools like hemp, flax, and soya, which are kind to animals and the planet.”

Sheep can recognise the faces of at least 50 other sheep and will wag their tails when they’re happy. In the wool industry, farmers commonly sever lambs’ tails and castrate the males without pain relief. PETA entities’ exposés of wool operations in Scotland and England found routine cruelty to sheep, who were beaten, punched, and kicked by workers. A PETA Asia investigation resulted in the first conviction of a sheep shearer in Scotland for cruelty to animals.

The UK’s more than 30 million sheep produce methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the Earth. The Outer Hebrides, where Harris Tweed is made, is experiencing rising sea levels, increased flooding, and coastal erosion driven by climate change. Rearing sheep also generates massive amounts of faecal waste and contributes to soil erosion and habitat destruction. The Made-By Environmental Benchmark for Fibres ranks sheep’s wool as a “Class E” fibre – the most severe category – based on its greenhouse gas emissions, toxicity to humans, eco-toxicity, and use of energy, land, and water. In contrast, it gives hemp its highest “Class A” ranking.

Hemp cultivation is enjoying a revival in Scotland and across Europe. Biodegradable and durable, hemp grows without pesticides or chemical fertilisers and absorbs more CO2 than it releases. Hemp yarn can be used to fashion beautiful tweeds that are stronger than sheep’s wool, easier to care for, and softer with each wash.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. 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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