Most major luxury brands – including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Burberry and Prada – buy cashmere from Mongolian farms that successfully torture goats that produce expensive fabrics, in response to an explosive report obtained by The Post.
In keeping with the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, hidden camera footage revealed cashmere goats certain by horns and hooves so that their bodies were painfully stretched to make it easier for employees to gather their precious fleece.
Staff on the Khanbogd Cashmere facility in Mongolia used sharp metal combs to rake the goats’ fleece for as much as an hour, whilst the animals screamed in pain, in response to video footage.
PETA investigators said they found pieces of cashmere with skin and “one goat with a bleeding penis, while one other was found dead the day after it was seen limping.”
At one facility, employees castrated young goats, often known as kids, by incising their scrotums after which plucking out the testicles with their bare hands without the usage of any painkillers.
In keeping with PETA, the power reportedly sells its cashmere to major fashion houses, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry, Hermes and Prada – despite some brands’ web sites boasting about using cashmere from sustainable sources.
“If persons are buying cashmere, it is totally a product of cruelty,” said PETA spokeswoman Ashley Byrne.
“We have had other investigations to show cashmere previously, but this will be the primary time we suspect a number of the brands we all know are sourcing from Khanbogd Cashmere,” Byrne said, “which after all is a giant operation if it’s sourcing those big fashion houses.
Other high-profile brands reported by PETA include customers Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Dior, Max Mara and Naadam – the latter promoting sweaters on the market online manufactured from “100% Mongolian cashmere”.
PETA is asking on fashion houses to commit to using vegan cashmere substitutes as a substitute of goat wool. Vegan cashmere is made from a variety of plant-based fibres, including bamboo and soy.
Representatives from LVMH – the posh conglomerate that owns Dior and Louis Vuitton – in addition to Kering, the parent company of Bottega Veneta and Gucci, which has pledged to phase out fur in 2017 – didn’t immediately reply to The Post’s request for comment. Burberry, Prada and Chanel didn’t comment.
Representatives for Max Mara and Naadam also didn’t reply to requests for comment.
The PETA probe took place from April 2022 to February 2023 in Khanbogd Cashmere’s operations, which include 12 cashmere factories, seven pastures and 4 slaughterhouses.
Byrne said the shocking photos and videos prove that “brands are definitely misleading and deceiving customers by assuring them that this cashmere is someway humane.”
The Sustainable Fiber Alliance (SFA), a non-profit organization that works to attenuate environmental impact and protect animals throughout the cashmere production process, has an industry standard that provides brands with SFA certifications.
Nevertheless, “there aren’t any government sanctions” when a brand violates the terms of SFA certification, similar to if a food company violated the terms of FDA approval, in response to Byrne.
“This investigation really shows that these certifications are completely meaningless,” Byrne added.
Owned by Khanbogd Cashmere clothing storefront boasts an 83% rating and silver certification from the SFA.
Khanbogd Cashmere and the SFA didn’t reply to requests for comment.
In keeping with a PETA investigation, many if not all goats are denied veterinary care during these operations.
PETA said that when cashmere production declines, goats are sold for slaughter.
Graphic videos showed goats dragged by the horns to the killing floor.
Their heads were then struck with a hammer before their throats were slit.
Disturbing footage showed abattoir employees slicing the animals’ necks after which wiping a bloody knife on the remaining fleece of the goats as they were placed in a drain that collected the blood flowing from their throats.
In keeping with a PETA report, some goats fought for his or her lives for as much as 4 minutes before finally dying out.
Other videos showed children left dead within the mud, either because they couldn’t survive the tough Mongolian winters – where temperatures drop below -22 degrees Fahrenheit – or because they were trampled by elderly goats rushing to shelter at night, PETA said. .