Online fashion retailer Boohoo has just become the first major fashion retailer to commit to banning the sale of products containing wool thanks to the shocking cruelty sheep suffer in the wool industry.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo has become the first major fashion retailer the ban the sale of products containing wool after PETA informed Boohoo Group about the truth behind the shocking and systemic cruelty suffered by animals at the hands of the wool industry.

The Manchester-based group made the decision following a PETA Asia eyewitness investigation of the Scottish wool industry, which documented that farmers struck terrified sheep in the face and that shearers slammed their heads into wooden floors, stamped and stood on their necks, and threw them off shearing trailers.

The fashion giant, whose brands include Boohoo, BoohooMan, Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal, has confirmed that from Autumn/Winter 2019, it will “no longer knowingly source any wool products”.

“PETA is toasting Boohoo group’s compassionate, business-savvy decision to scrap wool,” says PETA’s director of corporate projects, Yvonne Taylor.

“Kind shoppers agree that no jumper or scarf is worth kicking, punching, and killing gentle sheep on the shearing floor, and we’re urging other retailers to follow Boohoo’s forward-thinking example.”

Fur

Boohoo was recently warned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) after tests conducted by animal rights charity Humane Society International (HSI) found a jumper sold by the online fashion retailer contained real fur that it believed to be rabbit fur.

According to Boohoo, the company received the jumpers from a supplier who was “aware of Boohoo’s commitment against the sale of real fur and had signed a supplier acknowledgement form committing to not supplying products containing real fur”. Boohoo also claimed that it had tasked its quality control team to inspect a proportion of its stock that contained faux fur.

UPDATE

18th February: Hours after announcing plans to ban the use of wool altogether, Boohoo has released a statement to say it will “continue to use wool as a sustainable material”.

In a statement, the company said: “Boohoo continues to assess all options as part of its ongoing commitment to a more sustainable future.

“We are committed to ensuring the wool used in our supply chain comes from good husbandry and meets high levels of animal welfare, and will continue to use wool as a sustainable material.”

Boohoo’s (now reversed) stance had been dismissed as a publicity stunt, with analysis by The Daily Telegraph suggesting the fashion website didn’t sell any items containing wool anyway.