One of the biggest names in online fashion industry, ASOS, has created ripples on the socially conscious side of fashion by banningapparels made from silk, mohair and cashmere from its websites across the world. This has come about after they updated their animal welfare policy. In addition, the e-commerce giant will also stop stocking products that makes use of feathers and down, bone, and teeth or shell (including mother-of-pearl) by the end of January 2019.
ASOS will continue to stock leather and wool products with the justification that they will only be approved if leather and wool are ‘by-products of the meat industry from suppliers with good animal husbandry ethics’.
“PETA applauds ASOS for leading the charge for compassion in fashion,”Emily Rice, responsible for PETA’s Outreach and Partnerships Liaison said in a statement. This is ASOS’ second step towards welfare of animals as they recently banned fur, angora and other rabbit hair and products which use materials sought from vulnerable animals.
ASOS’ move towards ethical fashion is in line with the huge fashion market players including Topshop, Gap, Zara, Boohoo and Primark, H&M and Australian brands such as David Jones and Myer.
ASOS being one of the biggest online fashion stores in the world, with 12.4 million active shoppers across the globe, will definitely leave an impression on the industry. However, the question remains if the customers will accept this change, as the start of the year witnessed the ramp trend of fur, specifically mohair; and the customers want what they see.
Let’s keep an eye out for how this eventually turns out.
