In the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013 which killed 1,338 garment workers, fashion revolution week asks- who made my clothes?
"Our clothes are still being made by some of the poorest, most overworked and undervalued people in the world." (The Guardian, 2019). This must change, and it’s great so much of us care about where our clothes come from and that we’re putting pressure on companies to be more transparent which is driving change for the better. It's inspiring that we are starting to be more conscious about the environmental impact of the fibres we use too.
But my contribution to the conversation won't focus on the people who made our clothes
(although this is rightfully vital to address), I want to ask and think about something I see less people talking about. Who made my woolly jumper, my leather bag straps, my silk lining, my merino jersey sweater, or my mohair scarf?
All these “fibres” (a.k.a skin, hair, fur, fleece) come from an individual; from animals reared within a farming business where their bodies are seen as products to meet the demand of us, consumers.
Today I’m going to focus on sheep and their wool.
Sewing, making, knitting are all such beautiful acts, let’s not tarnish them with bloodshed.
Most of us love animals, and many of us share our lives with animal companions- we have cats and dogs who are part of our families and we would never dream of hurting them or willingly put them into the farming system. That very fact should be ringing alarm bells.
Make your actions align with your beliefs. You don’t have to be an animal lover to believe that animals don't deserve to what we do to them.
(I will write another post considering the environmental sustainability of using animal fibres, this one will focus solely on ethics.)
WOOL
It’s a common misconception that wool is just a by-product of an industry, that we’re not contributing to the industry if we buy them because, well- “they were going to die anyway” or even, people haven’t been told that all sheep reared for wool are sent to slaughter at the end of their lives when they are deemed not useful anymore= when they don’t make the farmer enough profit.
You may think that shearing a sheep isn’t harming them, so what’s the issue with it? I used to think this too, the farming industry isn’t transparent about the reality of their practices. And that makes sense, if they told us the truth no one would support it. Unfortunately that means many people don’t know the reality of farming because it’s hidden so well.
1/ The idea that sheep need to be sheared to be comfortable.
Domesticated sheep have been bred by us to produce too much wool so that we can harvest it. It’s only human intervention that has created this problem.
Peta says that “Many people believe that shearing sheep helps animals who might otherwise be burdened with too much wool, but without human interference, sheep grow just enough wool to protect themselves from temperature extremes”
2/ All sheep are in a farming system that abuses them.
As standard practice when they are born we hole-punch lambs’ ears, their tails are docked (either chopped off or an elastic band is tied so tightly that over several weeks it falls off) and males are castrated without aenasthetics.
“Elastration (also known as the rubber ring method) is the most common method of castration in the UK. A thick rubber ring is placed around the neck of the scrotum; this obstructs the blood supply and causes atrophy (deterioration) of the scrotum within four to six weeks. A report by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) found that “in the absence of effective pain relief, lambs experience considerable pain in the period following application of the ring.” They also found that the ring causes considerable pain and distress to the lamb for up to a month after the initial procedure (FAWC, 2008). The report recommended that effective pain relief should be provided for lambs; unfortunately however, this is simply not the case.”
In the UK, thousands of lambs die in the cold weather in February because farmers breed them earlier so that they can capitalise on increased demand around Easter time.
“Around 15 per cent of all lambs born annually die (Defra, 2004).” (Viva)
Lambs are separated from their mothers which is traumatic for both.
3/ Sheep are all sent to slaughter.
This means that by buying wool you are supporting a system that kills millions of animals a year for no reason.
“Around 12.5 million sheep were slaughtered in the UK in 2011 (Defra Statistics, 2011). Naturally, sheep can live up to 17 years; but farmed sheep are slaughtered, usually before they reach six years old. The majority of sheep slaughtered each year are lambs.” (Viva)
“Animals (except those killed by religious slaughter) must be stunned before slaughter in the UK. For sheep this usually means having an electric current passed through their brain. Electric prongs are applied on either side of the animal’s head, and a current passes between, rendering the animal unconscious. For this to be effective, the prongs must be applied in the correct place and for the correct amount of time. In the rush to slaughter as many animals in as short a time as possible, some sheep are incorrectly stunned which means they regain consciousness while having their throat cut or while bleeding to death.” (Viva)
We acknowledge that animals can be happy, either in reference to our pets or to the animals we are about to eat; "they've lived a happy life" some say. If we think they can be happy, we have to acknowledge they also feel fear when their throats are cut, or when they are man-handled, pinned to the ground and shorn.
2/ Sheep are abused by people who shear them.
Shearers are paid by weight of wool they shear, not their time. This means they want to shear as quickly as possible and therefore sheep often end up with cuts and wounds.
PETA informs us that "sheep are deprived of food and water before being sheared, in part so that they’ll feel weak and put up minimal resistance. As one shearer explained, “Imagine if someone attacked you after … you’d been starved for 24 hours—you wouldn’t have much of a fight.”" https://investigations.peta.org/australia-us-wool/
PETA has released seven exposés recorded at 47 wool-producing facilities on three continents that have all revealed that sheep are mutilated, abused, and skinned alive in the international wool industry. Footage has emerged from different farms in the UK of the abuse that sheep suffered at the hands of shearers. If it happens somewhere, it could be happening anywhere.
The Independent reported of a British farm:
“Animals could be seen writhing in agony as they were violently hit, punched and stamped on, and had their limbs twisted.”
"A Peta investigator reported seeing illegal cruelty in every one of the 25 English farming sheds visited by two shearing contractor companies over 15 days.”
“Shearers were also filmed jabbing animals in the face with electric clippers, swearing at and beating sheep. Other sheep had their heads slammed into wooden floors.” (FWI)
As part of their exposé, PETA exposed barbaric cruelty in19 shearing sheds visited by investigators, who documented 70 workers employed by nine shearing contractors who abused sheep in Victoria and New South Wales and South Australia. "Annually, these contractors’ workers may shear a total of more than 4 million sheep."
https://investigations.peta.org/australia-us-wool/
"When one lamb cried out during shearing, a worker yelled, “Pull it out! … [You’re] hurtin’ ‘er,” crudely joking that the shearer was raping the lamb. Workers called sheep “f***ing” and “God damn cunt[s]” and one rancher boasted that he had “the ‘all permission’ to pound the f*** out of” sheep. Another rancher said of one animal, “I want to choke that sheep. Cut her air supply off.”
One shearer even used a sheep’s body to wipe the sheep’s own urine off the hard wooden floor." (PETA)
You don't know where your wool comes from, it could have come from these abused sheep, are you prepared to take that risk- to pay for their suffering?
If we raise animals treating them as products, as things and objects, it’s no surprise that people are capable of physically abusing them. It’s about our mindset towards other sentient beings, do we choose to respect them, their bodies, and their preference to live?
Given a chance to interact with a sheep, this horrific behavior isn’t how most people would treat a sheep, or a lamb, or any animal. As children we grow up loving animals, connecting with them, being kind and gentle with them.
What changes? How can we enjoy a cuddle with our cat who we love so dearly, while eating a chicken salad? These animals are no different in value; they all feel pain, they all feel joy, and they all want to live. The only difference is we’ve allowed ourselves to form a bond with one, and not the other.
4/ Sheep (and other animals) are transported long distances, called ‘live exports’.
When sheep are seen as no longer profitable for their wool, they are shipped off to become meat in other parts of the world. As you can imagine the journey itself is hugely stressful and scary for any animal, they are kept in cramped conditions and many die of exhaustion and dehydration.
"In 2011 and 2012, over 130,000 live animals were transported from ports in the South East of England. In addition, there is a substantial export trade in young calves from Northern Ireland to the continent."
"Australia exports around four million live sheep every year, mostly to the Middle East every year. They may have travelled up to 50 hours by road to get to the sea port. This is followed by a journey of up to three weeks by sea and a further journey by road at the other end. Shockingly, around 40,000 sheep die every year before they reach their destination."
(Compassion in World Farming).
“Sheep can be legally transported for over ten hours without rest. Animals can suffer heat stroke, heart attacks, dehydration, overcrowding and stress related conditions. Defra maintain that: “We cannot ban the trade in live animals for slaughter as it would break EU free trade rules”. Around 50,000 a year are exported live each year (Defra 2011) who will be slaughtered when they reach their destination” (Viva).
4/ General treatment of animals within the industry.
Peta says “Flocks usually consist of thousands of sheep, and individual attention to their needs is virtually impossible.”
The whole farming system is set up not as a way to look after animals, but to profit off them. Their welfare is not the priority. If the cost of bringing in a vet to help a suffering animals is higher than the animal’s worth, you can imagine what the farmer will choose.
The Australian wool trade (where a 1/3 of the world’s wool comes from) is notorious for low animal welfare.
PETA says; “In Australia, the most commonly raised sheep are merinos, specifically bred to have wrinkly skin, which means more wool per animal. This unnatural overload of wool causes animals to die of heat exhaustion during hot months, and the wrinkles also collect urine and moisture. Attracted to the moisture, flies lay eggs in the folds of skin, and the hatched maggots can eat the sheep alive.
To prevent this so-called “flystrike,” Australian ranchers perform a barbaric operation—mulesing—or carving huge strips of flesh off the backs of lambs’ legs and around their tails. This is done to cause smooth, scarred skin that won’t harbor fly eggs, yet the bloody wounds often get flystrike before they heal.
Every year, hundreds of lambs die before the age of 8 weeks from exposure or starvation, and mature sheep die every year from disease, lack of shelter, and neglect.”
The whole point is that we shouldn't be enslaving these animals at all, and that any system that seeks to profit from them will inevitably be at their expense.
This quote from the National Sheep Association says it all:
“An amazing range of high quality products can be made from the resources sheep provide, from chump chops to woolly jumpers.”
This statements crystallises the way we are encouraged to feel about farm animals; as “products”, not as individuals capable of feelings; love and fear.
They’ve even provided an infographic of a sheep parcelled up into the cuts of meat. Nothing says more clearly that we don’t see these animals as individuals, but as bits of meat.
All you need to do is watch footage of animals reuniting with their family to see the evidence that they experience feelings of love and joy. Yes, these videos are soppy, but that doesn’t devalue the reality of what is being filmed. Watch two lambs reunite with their mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYIsQA35P0I
When I type in ‘reunited animals’ into youtube, ironically it’s all videos of people reunited with animals they have been separated from. We readily accept that we can form bonds with our pets, and they form bonds with us, how is it so hard to accept that animals form bonds with each other?
We think that animals “provide” us with resources, but we unwillingly take from them what is not ours. Ask yourself, do you really think a sheep gives their life willingly so that we can enjoy eating them? All animals have a preference to live, and therefore in a world where we don’t need to kill them, it is immoral. Not only do we not need to eat meat to survive, we don’t need to eat meat to live a thriving, healthy, happy life.
Just because an animal’s coat may be a biodegradable wonder which keeps you warm in cold weather and cool in the heat, doesn’t mean we need to take it from them.
You may be thinking but what if…
What if there is a nice, small, 'local' farm somewhere that doesn’t send its sheep to slaughter and looked after them all as individuals, and the shearers weren’t paid by weight, and no sheep got hurt….?
1/ This farm doesn’t exist. It's not possible to have a system that profits off animal's bodies without animals being taken advantage of.
2/ Even if it did exist it’s not possible to know where the wool in our tweed or merino jersey comes from, so the only moral choice is not buy any of it so you know you aren’t contributing to these animals’ suffering.
3/ The concept of farming is so normal to all of us we have to really think about it to try to see it for what it is.
It is standard farming practice to hole punch lambs’ ears, to castrate males and cut off or dock their tails. This would still happen in this made-up farm, because it’s part and parcel of breeding and raising animals in the system. You can’t set up a production line using living, sentient beings without there being consequences. It’s the whole system that is wrong.
4/ The underlying issue is the way we think about animals, they aren’t ours to do as we wish, we don’t own them. They haven’t grown their wool so that we can make a jumper out of it. They grow their own wool for themselves, just like our hair and bodies aren't owned by anyone but ourselves.
I know this makes for depressing reading, but the one hope is that as consumers, we have the power to stop this. Animal agriculture is built on supply and demand: if the demand reduces, the supply will too, and slowly we will see a world emerge that treats animals with the respect they deserve.
Resources
If you’d like to continue to educate yourself on animal agriculture here are some resources:
PETA
Dominion (2018, film) available to watch for free
Cowspiracy (2014, film) available on Netflix
The Disclosure Podcast (hosted by Earthling Ed).
References
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/commentisfree/2019/apr/22/who-made-my-clothes-stand-up-for-workers-rights-with-fashion-revolution-week
Viva, a charity that campaigns for a vegan world https://www.viva.org.uk/resources/campaign-materials/fact-sheets/lambing-lies-fact-sheet)
The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sheep-shearing-wool-peta-farms-rspca-action-punched-beaten-killed-a8508221.html
Compassion in World Farming https://www.ciwf.org.uk/our-campaigns/live-animal-transport/uk-live-exports/
https://www.ciwf.org.uk/our-campaigns/live-animal-transport/global-live-animal-transport-trade/
National Sheep Association https://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/know-your-sheep/meat-wool/