Fast Fashion Retailers Halt Angora Sales

Pressure from animal rights groups has led a number of major fast fashion retailers to agree to stop selling angora products.

Angora, which comes from the fur of a breed of rabbit, is harvested through shearing or plucking. Undercover video of an angora operation in China depicting fluffy rabbits in apparent pain was released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) last month. The cause has been taken up by consumers through online petitions targeting specific retailers directly.

So far, H&M, Topshop and Asos are among the retailers that have ceased—at least for the time being—carrying angora products. The latest petition is aimed at Zara, which according to critics carries more than 60 angora products.

In a statement released in late November, H&M said, “[We] will immediately stop the production of all angora products until we have secured that our strict product policy is being followed. H&M doesn’t accept that animals are treated badly. We only allow products made of angora rabbit hair from farms with good animal husbandry. Plucking is not acceptable in accordance with our product policy. We will now accelerate further inspections of our sub-suppliers to ensure compliance with our policy.”

Most angora comes from farms in China, although it is still produced in countries in Europe and North and South America. Like sheep’s wool, Angora fur can be harvested