By Enlighten India Blog - April 21, 2017
WILL HARLEY DAVIDSON'S BELTS AND JACKETS GO LEATHER-FREE?
After Ajaz Khan Challenges Company's Use of Cows' Skin, PETA Encourages Motorcycle Giant to Embrace Vegan Leather
Mumbai – After actor Ajaz Khan raised eyebrows by suggesting in a Facebook video that the Prime Minister should ban Harley Davidson for its use of leather, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India sent the motorcycle manufacturer a letter this morning suggesting that it smooth over the controversy by using vegan leather instead of dead animals' skin.
In the letter, PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to wear" – notes that a growing number of brands are designing products with sustainable vegan leather, including fashion industry leader Stella McCartney and luxury electric carmaker Tesla. Not only is vegan leather kinder to the environment, but it also spares cows from being crowded onto trucks to slaughterhouses where their throats are often slit with rusted, dull knives.
"Ajaz Khan's words may have been in jest, but cruelty to cows who are killed and skinned for leather is no joke", says PETA India CEO Poorva Joshipura. "PETA is encouraging Harley-Davidson to appeal to modern shoppers who care about animal protection by offering luxurious vegan leather jackets and belts."
Even before they're shipped to slaughterhouses, cows and other animals used for leather in India commonly suffer the horrors of being crammed onto vehicles in such high numbers, many suffocate, break their bones or even die in route. Some cows are marched to the slaughterhouse, and handlers twist and break their tailbones or smear chilli seeds into their eyes to force them to keep moving when they collapse.
Cows' skins are sent to tanneries, which pollute nearby drinking water with lead, cyanide, and formaldehyde. In Kanpur, about 400 tanneries dump much of their dangerous waste directly into the Ganga, which is now one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
WILL HARLEY DAVIDSON'S BELTS AND JACKETS GO LEATHER-FREE?
After Ajaz Khan Challenges Company's Use of Cows' Skin, PETA Encourages Motorcycle Giant to Embrace Vegan Leather
Mumbai – After actor Ajaz Khan raised eyebrows by suggesting in a Facebook video that the Prime Minister should ban Harley Davidson for its use of leather, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India sent the motorcycle manufacturer a letter this morning suggesting that it smooth over the controversy by using vegan leather instead of dead animals' skin.
In the letter, PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to wear" – notes that a growing number of brands are designing products with sustainable vegan leather, including fashion industry leader Stella McCartney and luxury electric carmaker Tesla. Not only is vegan leather kinder to the environment, but it also spares cows from being crowded onto trucks to slaughterhouses where their throats are often slit with rusted, dull knives.
"Ajaz Khan's words may have been in jest, but cruelty to cows who are killed and skinned for leather is no joke", says PETA India CEO Poorva Joshipura. "PETA is encouraging Harley-Davidson to appeal to modern shoppers who care about animal protection by offering luxurious vegan leather jackets and belts."
Even before they're shipped to slaughterhouses, cows and other animals used for leather in India commonly suffer the horrors of being crammed onto vehicles in such high numbers, many suffocate, break their bones or even die in route. Some cows are marched to the slaughterhouse, and handlers twist and break their tailbones or smear chilli seeds into their eyes to force them to keep moving when they collapse.
Cows' skins are sent to tanneries, which pollute nearby drinking water with lead, cyanide, and formaldehyde. In Kanpur, about 400 tanneries dump much of their dangerous waste directly into the Ganga, which is now one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
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