PETA protests H&M and COS shows over wool, citing abuse allegations
On September 13, two PETA activists stormed the COS runway at New York Fashion Week, and on September 17, three PETA supporters did the same at H&M’s London Fashion Week show. The disruption led to the resignation of Steven Kolb, then chief executive and president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, after two decades in the role. PETA says its campaign targets H&M Group’s use of NATIVA‑certified wool, which it claims is linked to animal abuse.
NATIVA, created by Chargeurs Luxury Materials, certifies wool sourced from farms in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, North America, Uruguay and Argentina and employs blockchain to trace the fibre from farm to consumer. PETA alleges that an undercover investigation at a South African wool operation it says was NATIVA‑certified showed workers kicking sheep, striking them with shearing equipment and a piece of wood, dragging lambs by their legs and cutting animals during shearing. The organisation also reported finding a lamb with a maggot‑infested wound and a dead lamb during that investigation. H&M responded that animal welfare is “very important” to it and that no animal should be harmed to make its products.
“These protests highlight that every wool garment is a product of suffering,” Ingrid Newkirk, PETA founder said.
PETA says its current campaign is focused on H&M Group and the use of wool that it alleges is obtained through animal rights abuses. The charity’s campaign intensified after a PETA Asia undercover investigation at a South African wool operation that, according to PETA, was NATIVA‑certified and connected to H&M Group’s supply chain.
What we know
During COS’s show on September 13, two PETA protesters entered the runway carrying a message on wool and leading to a confrontation that followed that saw Steven Kolb, then chief executive and president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), stepping down from his role of 20 years.
The same then happened in London, where on September 17, three PETA supporters separately entered H&M’s London Fashion Week show at Olympia, carrying signs calling on the retailer to drop wool, before the demonstrators were escorted from the runway.
But at the centre of PETA’s dispute is NATIVA, a certification and traceability programme used by H&M Group and other fashion companies.
PETA says investigators filmed workers kicking sheep, striking them with shearing equipment and a piece of wood, dragging lambs by their legs and cutting animals during shearing.
In a statement, the retailer said animal welfare was “very important” to it and that “no animal should be harmed to make our produc