FAD International–Pune Gets Direction on Vegan Fashion From PETA India
Creative minds, such as those of the fashion and interior design students at FAD International–Pune, thrive on inspiration and innovation, which is exactly why Benazir Suraiya – a former model and PETA’s associate manager of celebrity and media projects – gave an exciting talk on vegan fashion to the school’s students.
No one needs to murder animals to create a gorgeous pair of boots or the perfect armchair, but the global leather industry kills more than a billion animals every year. In India, many cows and other animals used for leather are loaded onto trucks that are so severely crowded that many are injured or die en route to the slaughterhouse. During slaughter, many animals are still conscious as their throats are cut. In the leather industry in China, workers beat dogs to death for their skin, and since labels don’t say “dog leather”, unsuspecting customers around the world don’t realise who they’re wearing or what they’re supporting when they purchase leather items.
Today’s fashionistas and entertainers want stylish aesthetics without torturing and killing animals. Fortunately, India now prohibits the importation of reptile skins and certain furs. In the fur industry, dogs, cats, foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals are suffocated, poisoned, electrocuted, bludgeoned, hanged, or bled to death, but faux fur is made without killing animals – and it looks and feels just as plush as real fur.
Students got the chance to check out samples of faux fur, vegan leather, and banana silk. We displayed a variety of great-looking vegan products, including faux-leather shoes by Ethik, Senso, and Veruschka; canvas shoes by Funk; faux-leather bags by Baggit, gqp Accessories, and Merci; a faux-fur jacket by ASOS; and a banana-silk saree by Pallod Creations.
And here’s what we showed the students:
The students were taken aback after watching the atrocious cruelty to animals shown in this video about the use of animals for fashion. Suraiya explained that they can avoid such abuse by using vegan materials.
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