People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has announced the winners of its Vegan Fashion Awards 2020, which recognise the most progressive brands and individuals ushering forth animal-free fashion.
“The forward-thinking winners of PETA India’s awards take fashion and compassion seriously,” says PETA India Senior Media and Celebrity Projects Coordinator Monica Chopra in a press statement. “They make it easy to have a killer look without killing animals.”
List of Winners:
Best Fashion Moment: Lakmé Fashion Week’s Sustainable Fashion Day (which was leather-free)
Best Vegan Trainers: Adidas India’s Unisex Adidas Originals Continental 80 Shoes
Best Vegan Style Icon: Richa Chadha
Best Vegan Activewear: Deivee by Milind Soman
Best Vegan Wool: Faborg (its WEGANOOL™ is made from Calotropis plants)
Best Vegan Leather: Malai (made using waste from the coconut industry)
Best Vegan Women’s Shoes: Papa Don’t Preach by Shubhika
Best Vegan Men’s Shoes: The Alternate
Best Vegan Bags: Broke Mate
Best Vegan Sarees: Ghatkopar Cloth Stores
PETA India and its affiliates have released numerous videos revealing that workers hit, kick, and mutilate sheep for their wool during shearing; leave goats with bloody, gaping wounds at mohair and cashmere operations; burn, electroshock, beat, and slaughter cows for leather; yank out the feathers of ducks and geese by the fistful for down; ram metal rods down conscious crocodiles’ spines in the exotic-skins industry; suffocate, electrocute, and bludgeon animals to death on fur farms; and boil silkworms alive to produce silk.
PETA India also notes that turning animal skin into garments requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, which are damaging to the environment. The 2017 “Pulse of the Fashion Industry” report revealed that leather – followed by silk – is the most polluting material in fashion.
