Stella McCartney Fashion Week PETA Ad: Designer Sheds Light On The Leather Industry (VIDEO)

Famed for her commitment to animal rights and a vegetarian lifestyle, British fashion designer Stella McCartney is taking her activism one step further by appearing in a PETA video looking into the leather industry.

"As a designer, I like to work with fabrics that don't bleed; that's why I avoid all animal skins," says McCartney in the video. "Please join me in exploring the huge variety of fashionable shoes, belts, purses, and wallets that aren't the product of a cow's violent death."

On their website, PETA explains the perils of the leather industry:

Leather sourced from developing countries such as India and China may have come from animals who experienced untold suffering—such as being dismembered while they're still conscious—since animal welfare laws there are either non-existent or not enforced. Stella avoids financing any of this barbarity by refusing to wear the skins of tortured animals.

According to a recent reports from The New York Times, the campaign has gotten off to a bumpy start.

The video's release comes just days ahead of New York Fashion Week which kicks off on Feb. 9. And while PETA had wanted to broadcast a short version of the video inside taxis during Fashion Week, the company that handles taxi videos refused.

So now the group will take to social media platforms to promote Stella McCartney's video message.

This isn't the only campaign PETA launched ahead of New York Fashion Week. Just last week, the animal rights group unveiled a 70 foot billboard of Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz showing off her bare shoulders for PETA's anti-fur campaign.

See some of PETA's most memorable anti-fur ads in the slideshow below (WARNING: Some images may be considered EXPLICIT and NSFW):

Comments

[Shabbir Chughtai]

09:47 AM on 02/29/2012

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We are tanners (producers) and exporters of Leathers for shoes, garments, goods(bags) & gloves.

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Regards.

SHABBIR CHUGHTAI

WHITE-GREEN (THE LEATHER COMPANY)

396/1, Sector 7A,
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E-MAIL: [e-mail]

[amaboss52]

06:31 PM on 02/15/2012

It gets harder and harder to justify being human! We are the cruelest of masters.

[Leather International]

08:04 AM on 02/14/2012

Leather is a by-product of the meat industry for the most part. Lets be realistic, animals will always be killed for their meat. Without the leather industry what would we do with all the hides? They would go to landfill and create a huge environmental problem. I am all for organisations that protect animals or the environment but I think these organisations should give everyone the full facts as opposed carefully selected truths

[myinkedpony]

07:36 PM on 02/08/2012

My family is from Australia. I have sheared a sheep and he seemed okay with it. He wiggled a lot, but definitely wasn't hurt or brutalized. In fact, he even got a big hug after it was over (I had a chance to hug it and I took it). The weather was horribly hot outside at the time, so I'm thinking he was happy to get into his summer wear. I can't understand any comparison of sheep shearing to skinning.

[Alexandra Moore]

07:22 PM on 02/08/2012

Yes but PETA are terrorist.

[Jen Clark]

06:01 PM on 02/08/2012

All these people are wanting synthetic everything, and no meat, eggs, and milk. It's not for any of you, or PETA to decide how the whole world lives. Are you aware there are people out there that are highly allergic to synthetic fibers? Some people wear fur, leather, 100% wool, 24 k earrings, etc. for vanity, but there are some out there that wear these because they can break out in hives or swell up if they come into contact with what's in synthetic fibers. There are people out there with severe health and mal-nutrition problems that could die without the added protein in meat and other nutrients? Sure they can spend thousands of dollars monthly on all these pills and supplements. But that's not natural, if it's not natural, it's not good for you, plain and simple. And PETA isn't even the animal loving activist people thing they are. They kill most of their animals. They have a sick, twisted brainwashing agenda, in which they exploit women in order to gain popularity. All of you complaining about people having pets, whales at sea world, eating meat, wearing leather and fur. Are you all, including PETA aware that the gelatin in jello and gummies, and the glue you use to put your stupid protest boards together are made from the hooves of horses? I have yet to see anyone complain about or even mention that.

[robodawa]

10:57 PM on 02/07/2012

I think any attack on the tanning industry for animal cruelty is misplaced. Tanners take the hides of dead animals and process these into leather. They need hides to make leather. Yes, they could ask or demand that slaughterhouses treat dedicated meat animals with finesse and humanity. Will they?
What if the slaughterhouse disagrees and then has boxcars of folded hides that get sent out of country? This gripe should not be about leather, it should be about meat processing. And I wonder how many Eagle-Ottawa lined car seats all of us have sat in without a thought to the process?

[kendarll]

04:05 PM on 02/07/2012

Nice video. Good job Stella! I too, eat meat and also do have some leather. This is a very torn subject, I would be OK with "kind killing," but is there really such a thing? Killing is killing. A lot of us make that comment, " you think we would all know better by now," but do we? It seems sometimes as if only a handful of us really do "know better," when will knowledge actually spead? We are now watching the polluting of our planet from "developing countries," making the Exact same mistakes as others have, as the "others" is who sold them the machinery they are polluting with now...? Humans. What a parasite........:) Sometimes great, a lot of time just Suck.

[DanInAustin]

03:45 PM on 02/07/2012

I've always thought the majority of leather production came from animals that were being slaughtered for meat anyway - a byproduct, in other words. I know that's not the case for all leather, but I'd be interested to see a breakdown by percentage.

I suppose it's academic at this point; I've been a vegan for about 9 months now, and I don't plan on buying any more leather products either way.

[Errant]

01:58 PM on 02/07/2012

We should stop eating plants, too. They're living things. We should stop using cotton because it harms plants. And silk. And just about everything that comes from plants and animals.

How about we all just kill ourselves while we're at it.

[Palomino42]

07:32 PM on 02/07/2012

What about plants? Don't plants have feelings too?
It is very possible that plants have sensitivities that we do not yet understand. Because plants do not have nervous systems and cannot run away from predators, it has generally been assumed that they do not experience pain and suffering. Recent scientific evidence suggests that the life of plants is more complex than we once thought. However, we do know that birds, mammals and fish have well-developed nervous systems and pain receptors. Like us, they show pleasure and pain and they present comparable evidence of fear and well-being. Animals cry out in pain, they nurse wounded body parts, and they seek to avoid those who have hurt them in the past.

In order to live, one has to eat. However, when we eat animal products, we consume many more plants indirectly than if we ate those plants directly, because the animals we eat are fed huge quantities of grasses, grains, and seeds to be converted into meat, milk, and eggs. As a vegan (one who eats no animal products) you cause fewer beings to suffer and die for you.
http://www.upc-online.org/ethics_questions.html

Conventional silk is made by boiling the intact cocoons and thereby killing the silk worms after which the single silk strand is unwound onto reels.
http://www.ecofashionworld.com/Glossary/Cruelty-Free-Silk-or-Peace-Silk.html

[Errant]

01:49 AM on 02/08/2012

I don't mind vegans but I don't particularly share their view on life. If a wolf can eat a deer, I can eat whatever I want.

You have so many animals that can and do do horrible things to each other that are hardly "humane" that I just don't buy that bull. Sharks eat each other in the womb, snakes will eat prey whole and while they are still alive or use agonizing venoms OR crush prey to death. And wasps? They will leave you alive but paralyzed so their offspring can eat you.

And it astounds me how vegans, at least the ones I know, need supplements or can't have anything even meat flavored without getting sick.

It'd be nice if we were herbivores living off fruits and grains but we're not. We're omnivores and that's how we survive.

Of course, we can do things humanely. I don't argue that. Whatever makes us feel better. But veganism is more a luxury than anything else.

[Jeremyewilliams]

12:24 PM on 02/07/2012

Humans are disgusting.

[steve11407]

10:54 PM on 02/07/2012

You've been brainwashed.

[Ian Llangan]

05:26 PM on 02/08/2012

No, Jeremy's just observant.

[amaboss52]

06:23 PM on 02/15/2012

LOL you're the one that's been brainwashed. Brainwashed into thinking that we can treat other beings any way we want, brutalize them, torture them, yep me thinks it's you!

[Lily P]

11:40 AM on 02/07/2012

It's our consumer cheap goods driven society that is doing this. Eating meat in itself isn't bad. Wearing leather isn't bad. It's eating too much meat and demanding too much leather for really cheap prices that is causing a lot of this pollution and abuse. I DON"T feel plastic based products are better. I think Americans living within their means and not being gluttonous pigs is a way better option.

[Son of Liberty 1765]

09:17 AM on 02/07/2012

I just bought 4 incredible quilted leather chairs. There is nothing like real leather. THe native americans used leather of all kinds to make their clothes and furnishings. We are just carrying on the tradition and it is a renewable resource.

[threnodymarch]

02:38 PM on 02/07/2012

I agree with you, but in my opinion, it has more to do with the treatment of animals before death than it has to do with their actual dying to create products. I have no problem with leather, fur, eating meat, etc, IF the animals are not in any pain before and during the execution (for lack of a better word). The fact that animals are still sometimes conscious and are abused during their lives is unacceptable. I don't believe in a utopian world, but I think there is a way to treat animals better without sacrificing the products we use today (but unfortunately mass consumption and factory settings make decent conditions that much harder to come by). You are absolutely right; we are carrying on ancient traditions of using animals and there isn't anything essentially wrong with that. I just think we can do it better.

[FullFrontal]

08:50 AM on 02/07/2012

i would like to purchase leather-alternative clothing but EVERYTHING seems to be made of the stuff! do they sell those five-finger shoes without leather? where can i buy everyday items like shoes, jackets, etc that aren't made from leather? or can i have things specially made from manufacturers like Nike or Adidas that aren't leather?

[Palomino42]

07:40 PM on 02/07/2012

Many fashionable clothing items and accessories are now made from synthetic materials rather than animal skins. Many non-leather items are sold in discount shoe stores, or you can shop online for an even larger selection. Check out www.veganstore.com, www.veganessentials.com and www.mooshoes.com for stylish non-leather shoes, handbags, wallets, belts and other accessories.

[Palomino42]

07:51 PM on 02/07/2012

Leather Substitutes Resource Guide
http://unreasonable.org/node/7

[OverseasVet]

01:46 AM on 02/08/2012

Lots of petroleum products there. Is that where environmentally aware people shop?

[sabelmouse]

07:41 AM on 02/07/2012

then don't use leather from india. i'm sure leather could come from free range animals just like meat. meanwhile what's the environmental impact of synthetics and cotton and what about the treatment of silk worms ?
and what about garment workers and their conditions and i bet the living and working conditions of leather workers in india and elsewhere are abysmal .
all this hardly comes down to one thing.
and what about the enormous waste of an industry that depends entirely on vanity and greed and throwing out the old to get new ?

[Palomino42]

07:49 PM on 02/07/2012

Much of the leather purchased in the U.S. is imported from India and China, where conditions for animals are particularly cruel and the cows are so malnourished that they yield little if any meat. Old and sick cows are often forced to march long distances, then crammed tightly into illegal transport trucks that take them to the slaughterhouse. Upon arrival, handlers beat and torture weak and injured cows to force them to walk to the killing floor, then slit their throats while they are still fully conscious. Most clothing labels only specify where the product was finished, not where the leather came from, so if you purchase leather you may be supporting this extreme animal cruelty without even knowing it.

Other animals used to make leather include horses, sheep, lambs, goats and pigs who are raised and slaughtered for meat, as well as kangaroos, elephants, and sharks who are hunted specifically for their skins. In some countries, even dogs and cats are killed for their skins, yet because the products are deliberately mislabeled, consumers around the world unknowingly buy leather made from former companion animals.

[sabelmouse]

06:57 AM on 02/08/2012

again; let's not do that. just like let's not get our meat from factory farms and let's not get our clothes and shoes made by women and children working under near slavery conditions.
or cocoa produced with actual child slavery while i'm at it.