7 December 2021 – Despite rising shopper demand, animal welfare is not yet in vogue for most of the biggest fashion brands. Now the second edition of the FOUR PAWS’ Animal Welfare in Fashion report assesses and ranks popular global brands on their animal welfare policies, and how the fashion industry is progressing in response to this emerging issue.  

For the report, FOUR PAWS teamed up with brand rating platform Good on You to rate 111 international brands from nine different fashion market segments such as Outdoor, Sports and Fast Fashion on their progress in animal welfare. High fashion pioneer Stella McCartney and early sustainability adopters Armedangels and Mara Hoffman are among the top-rated brands, while luxury giants Hermès, Prada, and Louis Vuitton found themselves on the ‘worst’ list. See the overview here.

A 2021 international survey demonstrated that consumers' concern about their wardrobe has significantly changed since COVID-19, with almost every third person seeking animal friendly credentials within their garments.  

Yet despite the rapidly growing demand for more animal-friendly fashion, less than a third (32%) of brands source certified wool or down to any animal welfare standard, and just over a half (57%) have an animal welfare policy at all. Above all translating policy into action remains the biggest challenge.

Luxury and Fast Fashion are the worst

While it is striking that Stella McCartney as a luxury brand is spearheading the ranking, the rest of the exclusive market segment are behind the curve when it comes to animal welfare.  

With a market segment average of only 23%, luxury brands achieve the lowest score, largely due to their high rate of wildlife exploitation and a general lack of transparency. No time bound commitments to source certified wool and down and no formal animal welfare policies are also reasons why a brand is to be found at the bottom of the list. The Fast Fashion segment, with an average of 53 per cent, takes the penultimate place, while Sustainability Champions and the Outdoor segment come into first (76%) and second (71%) place when comparing the performances of the fashion market segments.  

A slow but steady change

Since 2020 and the first ever Animal Welfare in Fashion report, 14 per cent of the brands reviewed have improved their animal welfare rating. The number of brands that now have a formal animal welfare policy in place is more than double the figure (57%) of the previous report, and 14 per cent of brands have made a commitment to move away from certain animal-derived materials.  

Medcalf says, “The good news is that change is happening and it’s thanks to the hard work of many industry players, the fantastic animal-free material innovations becoming increasingly accessible, and people speaking up and voting with their wallets. While we are pleased to see more action taken by brands to better protect animals, millions of animals continue to suffer mulesing, live plucking, factory farming and more for fashion. Our report aims to get more fashion companies to step up.”  

“The key message here is, consumers have power to push the industry forward. The best-performing brands show us not only how the industry can do much better, but also that real change happens when each of us takes action. This report is one more way that Good On You’s ratings of thousands of fashion brands are empowering people all over the world to enact their values and buy better.” says Gordon Renouf, Co-Founder, Good On You. 

Background

Over 1,000,000 people have now backed the FOUR PAWS #WearitKind program and the momentum keeps building. FOUR PAWS is committed to seeing the fashion industry recognise animal welfare as the critical third pillar of ethical fashion and measurement towards this goal will continue to be marked by FOUR PAWS upcoming editions of the Animal Welfare in Fashion Report.

How we rated brands

The Good On You brand rating system aggregates data from external rankings, certifications, and standards systems, as well as publicly available information to assess a brand’s performance against each material issue. This data was assessed in respect of the performance on animal welfare, including a brand´s disclosure of animal derived materials, a position on animal welfare within their CSR reports, the transparency regarding their supply chains and their potential commitment to sustainably source non-animal derived materials. FOUR PAWS is a consultation partner to Good On You for the animal welfare section of the rating system.