Josie Knowles, a 26-year-old activist with Peta UK, walked the H&M runway at London Fashion Week last month holding a sign that read “H&M: Wool is Bloody Cruel.” The protest, which Knowles said she practised for in her bedroom, went viral, with one post alone drawing 40 million views.
Knowles, who leads fashion campaigns at Peta UK, dressed in vegan, secondhand clothes for the stunt, including trousers from the defunct early 2000s label Spacegirlz and high-heeled boots from Peta's prop cupboard. She said she was aware that looking good would boost the chances of her protest going viral. “Unfortunately, we live in a shallow world, and I think people are often more willing to listen to people that they find attractive,” she said.
Peta's shift from fur to wool
The catwalk invasion is part of Peta's renewed campaign against animal-derived fabrics, particularly wool. Peta had previously claimed victory when the fashion industry stopped using fur, but now it is targeting wool, calling for its eradication alongside other animal-derived materials.
Peta's anti-wool efforts intensified after the group captured footage of extreme cruelty to sheep at a wool operator that supplies H&M through a broker. That farm was Nativa- and Responsible Wool Standard-certified, accreditations that Peta has described as “humanewashing.” Peta claims to have evidence of extreme cruelty from 150 wool operations globally.
Industry and expert responses
The protests have drawn mixed reactions from the fashion world. Some insiders expressed exasperation and confusion, according to a Vogue Business piece published in response to the protests. Meanwhile, animal welfare experts told the Guardian they see far fewer injuries in UK farms than in Australia and China, but many expressed concern about the prioritization of speed over care in low-cost wool production.
Melanie Lary, research and campaigns manager at Four Paws, noted that 80% of the merino wool used for clothing globally comes from Australia, the only country where mulesing is still legal. “That practice is very cruel, and it is widespread within the system,” she said.
H&M said it relies on “some of the strictest certifications in the industry when sourcing animal fibers for our products,” but after Peta's investigation, “licenses for one wool farm have been suspended.” Nativa said the events shown in the footage were unacceptable and added: “We take this breach of our protocol as an opportunity to further tighten the control measures on all of our certified farms.”
Activists defend tactics
Peta activists say the catwalk invasions are a “last resort” after attempts to negotiate with companies. Harry Morris, who works in youth outreach for Peta, also rushed the H&M catwalk in London and invaded the runway at a Paul Smith show in Milan this summer to protest mohair. He said the stunts are “nervewracking” and that activists watch Peta's footage from farms just before leaping on to the catwalk.
Peta US spokesperson Ashley Byrne, a 19-year campaigner, said the group is “starting from scratch” in changing public opinion about wool. “It does kind of bring you back to those earlier tactics of really having to drag an issue into the headlines in a different way,” she said. Morris said Peta will keep storming catwalks: “We will find a way to get in, and to stand up for animals.”
