For immediate release:
August 31, 2021
Contact:
Moira Collie 202-483-7382
Fort Myers, Florida. – After meeting PETA and watching the group’s first-of-its-kind revelation showing that crying alpacas were roughly shaved, cut open and left bleeding from deep wounds, local company Chico’s FAS, Inc., whose brands include Chico, White House Black Market, and Catfish– confirmed that he will not buy alpaca wool after this year. PETA sends a box of delicious vegan chocolates to the company as a token of gratitude.
“No scarf or sweater is worth terrorizing delicate alpacas,” says PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman. “The shelving at Chico’s will be much kinder without the alpaca wool, and PETA welcomes the company’s compassionate decision.”
A PETA investigation reveals that workers threw alpacas, some of whom were pregnant, onto tables, tied them tightly by their legs to a counter, and pulled them hard, nearly knocking their legs out of their sockets. Frightened animals spat, screamed and vomited with fear when workers grabbed them by the ears, roughly cut them, roughly sewed up bloody cuts and threw them on the concrete floor.
Chico’s previously banned fur, angora and mohair after PETA exposed the horrific brutality and subsequent appeals. The company joins Lands’ End, Williams Sonoma, UNIQLO, Esprit, Ann Taylor, LOFT, Columbia and more in banning alpaca – and PETA is urging Anthropologie to follow suit.
PETA – whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human excellence. Photos from the investigation are available here. For more information on collecting news and reporting on PETA investigations visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…