Through the hardship, 2020 has allowed many to pause and consider what is really important to them. People are increasingly thinking about issues surrounding the environmental crisis, social justice, and animal protection and standing up for change. And together we’ve madesome big strides for our furry and feathered friends:

• Our Wear it Kind campaign brought together an incredible near 170,000 people who signed a petition calling on brands to end their use of wool from mulesed sheep (sheep who have the skin on their backside painfully sliced off) and brands listened!
• An amazing 185 brands now oppose mulesing. This long list demonstrates that we all have enormous power when we use our voices for good, and now, a huge mass of brands are saying they don’t want wool from mulesed sheep!
• This demand for non-mulesed wool, and the distinct message that mulesing must end is certainly growing louder. With interest in ethical fashion on the rise and the genetic and pain-free solution to both mulesing and flystrike now proven viable, more Australian wool farmers and producers are looking to phase out the cruel practice. 
• FOUR PAWS was featured on a ground-breaking ABC Landline Program highlighting the genetic solution to mulesing. This program reached thousands of shoppers and wool producers, and it, alongside the launch of an economic report co-commissioned by Four Paws and Humane Society International – ‘Towards a Non-Mulesed Future’, saw a huge leap forward in awareness. We’ve also received reports that wool producers have since been reaching out for more information on how to transition away from mulesing. The wheels are in motion!

• Following our investigation with the Animal Justice Party (AJP) in Melbourne, which showed real animal fur being sold as ‘faux’ in prominent markets, Sydney City Council also announced a ban on the sale of fur on council grounds! This exciting feat, thanks to the work of many especially AJP’s Emma Hurst MP was followed by commitments from Inner West Council, City of Canterbury Bankstown, Blue Mountains City Council and Liverpool City Council to ban fur sales on council grounds, too. These bans go to show that we’re making enormous progress in ending the cruel fur industry.
• Our second round of investigative work with the Animal Justice Party in Victoria resulted in the issue of mislabeled fur being catapulted into the spotlight, with almost 140 platforms reporting our findings to people all across the nation. One such platform was the iconic publication, CHOICE Magazine.
• More Australian brands have joined our Fur Free Retailer program this year, too! Hurray! A big thank you to Alkam and Princess Polly for both committing to ban fur from their product lines.
• Beyond Australia, support for the fur industry is getting smaller all across the world. In the Netherlands, Dutch politicians voted to close all fur farms by the end of this year. The world’s largest fur auction house, Kopenhagen Fur, is set to close, too. Probable fur bans are in motion in Poland, France has announced a ban on mink fur, and Hungary has banned mink and fox fur farming. A fashion future without fur is closer than ever.

• The first-ever report on animal welfare in fashion was released by FOUR PAWS this year. This important and shocking report received strong attention from the fashion industry, finding that only 38% of the brands reviewed considered animal welfare risks even to some degree. We have a lot of work to do, but thanks to this report, the industry understands more about the issues, and how to address them.
• Animal-friendly fashion turned heads this year thanks to luxury designer Stella McCartney. McCartney’s runway featured not only beautifully designed fashion garments that are animal-free and more animal-friendly but carried an important message on the protection of animals.
• A stunning new material came to the market called Desserto. This material claims to be a sustainable and kind material alternative to animal skin leather, made primarily from cactus! Now even more designers have more options available to create kind, eco-friendly fashion.
• Lastly, thousands more people continued to sign our Wear it Kind pledge, adding their face to the movement, committing to Wear it Kind calling for an animal-friendly fashion future.

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Emma Hakansson