ASOS pledge to band mohair, cashmere and silk from 2019

Mohair jumper currently stocked at ASOS

Animal welfare in fashion has had a huge boost this week. Asos – the second biggest clothing site in the UK, with 64.4m visitors in the six months to May 2018 – has pledged to ban silk, mohair, cashmere and feathers from its site from January 2019. In addition, products using down, teeth and bone – including mother-of-pearl, which is taken from the shell of some molluscs – also fall under the planned ban.

Peta, the animal rights organisation, came out in support of Asos’s move to update its animal welfare policy. “The global online retail platform is reflecting a profound shift in public attitudes towards the rearing and killing of animals for fashion,” said Peta UK’s director, Elisa Allen. “Consumers are changing the face of the industry by demanding that designers and retailers offer clothing and accessories that look beautiful without harming animals.”

Asos’s policy states the site’s point of view. “Asos firmly believes it is not acceptable for animals to suffer in the name of fashion or cosmetics,” it reads. “Asos is committed to working with industry expert groups to support the ongoing research, development and implementation of animal welfare standards and transparency in the leather supply chain.”

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