The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Kaycee Enerva

Kaycee Enerva

@foto.privet via Twenty20

Every year, billions of animals suffer and die in the name of fashion. Their skin peeled off to manufacture leather, birds restrained while feathers are ripped from their skin, and animals caged and killed for fur. Many people have been clamouring for brands to prioritise animal welfare over profits – but how are they faring?.

According to Jessica Medcalf, global corporate manager for textiles at animal welfare organisation Four Paws, while brands publicly announce that they care for animals when you dig deeper, you’ll discover that they have weak animal welfare policies – or none at all. 

“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,” shares Medcalf. 

In line with this, the animal welfare organisation has released a report on animal welfare in fashion and ranked the best and the worst out of 111 international brands from nine different fashion market segments such as Outdoor, Sports and Fast Fashion on their progress against animal cruelty.

The organisation teamed up with brand rating system Good On You that aggregates data from certifications, external rankings, standard systems, and publicly available information to evaluate a brand’s performance against each category, including animal welfare, disclosure of animal-derived materials, transparency of supply chains, CSR reports, and the brand’s potential commitment to sustainably source non-animal derived materials.

Stella McCartney and early sustainability adopters Armedangels and Mara Hoffman are among the top-rated brands, together with Icebreaker, Another Tomorrow, Takko, People Tree, Nikin, Afends, and Smartwool.

Hermés, Fendi, Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara, and Moncler were all named among the ‘Worst’ brands for failing to fulfil adequate animal welfare standards. Faring better were Michael Kors received 8 per cent, Coach with 13 per cent and Off-White with 15 per cent.

We take a closer look at the best fashion brands for animal welfare based on Four Paws’ report and see how they fare under the microscope in terms of their actions, accomplishments and sustainability targets.

The 10 best fashion brands for respecting animal welfare 

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Stella McCartney 

Market segment: Luxury

Score: 90%

An anomaly among luxury brands, Stella McCartney, ranks the top place in the list with a score of 90 per cent. A vegetarian company, the brand states that no animals are killed for its products. None of its products uses animal leather, feathers, furs, or exotic skins – and none of its adhesives contain animal by-products. In addition, the brand is also against animal testing. This is why it doesn’t sell its fragrances to China, which has until recently required animal testing prior to certification.  

In terms of sustainability, the brand has banned toxic materials that can harm the environment, including Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or azo dyes. 

Furthermore, all the brand’s packaging materials are sourced from (Forest Stewardship Council) FSC certified wood, paper, and packaging. 

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Icebreaker

Market segment: Outdoor

Score: 90%

New Zealand-founded clothing company Icebreaker, known for using merino wool, states in its latest transparency report that all sheep are free to roam and get to live “where sheep can be sheep”. No animals are harmed when the wool is collected and they all have a steady supply of food and drink – and medical attention when necessary. 

Furthermore, all supplier farmers are required to have an environmental plan in place. 

On sustainability, the company uses only fully recycled and biodegradable plastic bags. According to the brand’s website, Icebreaker is currently working on developing a water-soluble bag. In addition, it has reduced air fright use by 68 per cent over the last year.

One of the company’s main goals is to reduce micro-plastics and discontinue using acrylic materials.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Another Tomorrow

Market segment: Sustainability Champion

Score: 90%

A value-first company, Another Tomorrow is built on a commitment to sustainability and empathy for the planet and its inhabitants – animals, humans, and the environment.

“We are committed to never using materials that require the suffering or killing of animals, educating our community on the realities of the treatment of animals in fashion supply chains, and supporting the practice of forging farm-level relationships and allowing domesticated animals to live their full natural lifespans in comfort.”

In addition, the company does not use silk, down, polyester, conventional linen and cotton, or virgin cashmere.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Takko

Market segment: Retail Supermarket Chain 

Score: 90%

German fashion line Takko states that sustainability is one of its top priorities. As a result, the company created a “Quality by Takko Fashion” that guarantees sustainably-sourced material, free from pollutants, and sets clearly defined social standards for all its products.

Regarding animal welfare, all the brand’s clothing and accessories are 100 per cent free of animal fur. It is also a member of the Fur Free Retailer Program, a global initiative recognising companies against animal cruelty.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

People Tree

Market segment: Sustainability Champion

Score: 85%

The company was launched in 1991 as an “environmentally conscious clothing” brand with a fair trade and sustainability mission. The brand states that all of its products are made with the highest ethical standards and use animal-friendly materials such as organic cotton, Tencel and responsibly sourced wool. 

According to the company, it chooses to use wool for three main reasons: it is natural, biodegradable, and sustainable. In addition, new wool grows on the sheep’s back every year and can be removed without harming the animal.

The brand’s wool is sourced from New Zealand, with the Animal Welfare Act establishing a duty of care for animals.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Nikin

Market segment: Sustainability Champion

Score: 85%

Launched in 2016, the Swiss brand’s offers sustainable yet affordable fashion.

The brand doesn’t use any animal materials such as leather or wool. It also states that it prefers to use sustainably-sourced organic natural fibres such as cotton. When necessary, such as with buttons or zippers, Nikin uses recycled materials. 

Some of the materials used for the brand’s products include organic cotton, linen, sugar cane, cork oak, bamboo, and pinatex.

However, Nikin says it had to use Spandex, a synthetic material made from 85 per cent polyurethane, for its activewear line. The choice was purely functional as there are no natural materials available that have the same elasticity as Spandex.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Mara Hoffman

Market segment: Sustainability Champion

Score: 85%

New York fashion label Mara Hoffman says it seeks to design and manufacture garments with care, reduce environmental impact, and help raise environmental awareness. 

The brand prioritises using natural, recycled, and organic fibres to produce responsibly-made garments. It does not use any fur, leather, mulesed sheep wool, or feathers. For swimwear, it uses recycled nylon or recycled polyester.

The company has also partnered with environmental organisations including Earth Matter, Fabscrap, Fashion Positive, and Queen of Raw, to help the brand achieve its sustainability goals.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Armedangels

Market segment: Sustainability Champion

Score: 85%

German fashion label Armedangels believes that being environmentally considerate and fair is a responsibility, not an option. That is why the company states it uses only renewable and recycled materials for its products.

For fabric, the brand uses sustainably-sourced organic cotton; recycled PET bottles spun into yarn, organic linen, Tencel, Kapok as silk alternative, Sheep and Alpaka wool without mulesing – the removal of skin to collect the wool.

According to the company, all livestock are sourced from family farms that traditionally raise the free-range herds.

For fair, organic, and social responsibility, the brand works with organisations including global organic textile standards, Wear Fair, Fairtrade Cotton, and Peta-approved vegan.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Afends

Market segment: Sustainability Champion

Score: 85%

The Australian fashion label Afends seeks to revolutionise fashion by using hemp as an eco-friendly fabric alternative. It also does not use any plastic or animal-sourced materials for the garments.

According to the company, hemp is one of the most durable and economically viable threads. The plant takes only 90 days to cultivate, requires less water than cotton, and produces more fibre per acre. In addition, it supplies its nutrients to the soil and needs no pesticides to grow. 

The brand works alongside non-profit organisations, including Toys Change Lives, WildArk, and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife.

The 10 fashion brands that care most about animal welfare

Smartwool

Market segment: Outdoor

Score: 84%

Smartwool is an American company offering garments made from sustainably-sourced wool. From product development to supply-chain management, the brand claims that it wants to make sure it uses only sustainable wool and sourcing solutions for the industry.

The brand is working with eco-fibre brand ZQ merino to ensure that the sheep used to produce the wool are treated humanely, growers are treated fairly, and the farms work to minimise their impact on the environment. 

In addition, the brand has also begun to use recycled wool fibre, hemp blends and cotton in some collections to further reduce its carbon footprint.

The fashion industry still needs to step up

Despite increased demand for animal-friendly fashion, this is not yet a trend on the scale of plant-based foods or other eco-friendly products.

According to the report, less than a third of brands source down or wool certified by animal welfare standards, and less than 60 per cent have an animal welfare policy in their companies.

However, Medcalf shares that change is happening, thanks to the hard work of industry players, animal-free innovations, and consumers who are speaking up through their purchases.

“While we are pleased to see more action taken by brands to protect animals better, 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,” Medcalf added. 

Kaycee Enerva

Kaycee Enerva

A digital content manager based in the Philippines, Kaycee Enerva has written for multiple publications over several years. A graduate of Computer Science, she exchanged a career in IT to pursue her passion for writing. She's slowly practicing sustainability through period cups, and eating more plant-based food.

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