Animal advocacy group Four Paws has released its second-annual Animal Welfare in Fashion report, revealing that animal welfare is not yet a priority for some of the world's biggest brands.
111 brands were assessed as part of the research, including Australian and New Zealand brands Afends, Cotton On, Country Road, David Jones, Decjuba, Forever New, Gorman, Icebreaker, Kathmandu, Kmart Australia and Spell.
The brands were ranked on their progress in animal welfare, transparency of policies and disclosure of animal products used, and commitments to using certified or non-animal materials.
The report found that despite the growing demand for more animal-friendly fashion, less than a third (32%) of brands source certified wool or down to any animal welfare standard, and just over a half (57%) have an animal welfare policy at all.
Further, translating policy into action remains the biggest challenge for fashion brands.
Four Paws global corporate engagement manager (textiles) Jessica Medcalf said there is a gap between consumers' expectations and what brands are offering.
"Our report shows that despite high community expectations for animal welfare, most fashion brands still know extraordinarily little of the conditions faced by animals within their supply chains.
"Brands talk the talk about caring for animals, but dig a little deeper and you’ll often find weak or patchy animal welfare policies or none at all," she said.
In the rankings, Byron Bay-based Afends and New Zealand-born Icebreaker were ranked among the 'Best Brands' in 2021 for demonstrating leadership for animal welfare in fashion.
Meanwhile, Kathmandu was recognised as a 'Better Brand' for making significant progress on animal welfare in the sector.
Assessing the 'Best' and 'Better' brands, Four Paws found that progress on animal welfare has been made by brands that have adopted at least one of the 'Reduce-Refine-Replace' policies to limit the use of animal derived materials (ADMs).
These policies include:
- Reducing or limiting the amounts of ADMs used overall
- Avoiding the use of ADMs which are not certified to robust animal welfare standards
- Exclusively sourcing ADMs which are attached to robust animal welfare certifications or where possible for the brand, monitoring the farms from which their animal materials originate
- Adopting and/or developing innovative substitutes to replace ADMs
When it comes to the 'Worst' ranked brands in the report, Four Paws' research found that brands in the luxury and mid-point/premium markets were failing to meet adequate standards of animal welfare.
According to Four Paws, the brands that were ranked the lowest typically: did not have formal animal welfare policies, did not have time-bound commitments to source certified wool and down, did not prohibit the use of wild animals for textiles and had a lack transparency not just in animal welfare but in their policies and practices overall.
However, the report states that Hermès and the LVMH brands Dior, Louis Vuitton and Fendi have formal animal welfare policies and time-bound commitments to source certified wool and/or down.
Despite the challenges presented by moving away from ADMs, Four Paws states that slow progress is being made.
Since the first ever Animal Welfare in Fashion report in 2020, 14% of the brands reviewed have improved their animal welfare rating.
Additionally, the number of brands that now have a formal animal welfare policy in place is more than double the figure (57%) of the previous report, and 14% of brands have made a commitment to move away from certain ADMs.
"The good news is that change is happening and it’s thanks to the hard work of many industry players, the fantastic animal-free material innovations becoming increasingly accessible, and people speaking up and voting with their wallets," Medcalf said.
"While we are pleased to see more action taken by brands to better protect animals, millions of animals continue to suffer mulesing, live plucking, factory farming and more for fashion.
"Our report aims to get more fashion companies to step up," she said.
Four Paws' Animal Welfare in Fashion 2021 report is available to read online now.
Brands were ranked through aggregate data from external rankings, certifications, and standards systems, as well as publicly available information to assess a brand’s performance against each material issue. This data was assessed in respect of the performance on animal welfare, including a brand´s disclosure of animal derived materials, a position on animal welfare within their CSR reports, the transparency regarding their supply chains and their potential commitment to sustainably source non-animal derived materials.