Abstract
There is no doubt that the textile (and fashion) industry is important for the economy; however, taking into account the concept of sustainability, this industry many times—actually most times—operates to the detriment of environmental and social factors. John R. Ehrenfeld defines sustainability as “the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on the earth forever” (Ehrenfeld and Hoffman 2013, p. 7). This notion of sustainability is not only a concern for people and the environment, but also for animals. Besides environmental and social issues, more than 50 million animals suffer cruel death each year to benefit the fashion industry (Born Free USA 2014). The purpose of this chapter is to make a contribution to the animal care agenda in the textile and fashion industry by presenting the United Nations Global Compact Code of Conduct for the Textile and Fashion Industry and Ovis 21 case—a company from the Argentine Patagonia, that is a B Corp and Savory Institute Hub company, but a company in which People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) discovered cruelty to animals in one of their establishments. This also puts forward the reactions of two of its most important clients, the media and consumers. This chapter closes with an analysis and some conclusions about the topic and Ovis 21 case.
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Notes
- 1.
According to Moderez and De Landtsheer (2015), the Chinese fur is often intentionally mislabeled, so when the customers buy fur, they are unable to trace where it comes from.
- 2.
Here, the UNGC Code of Conduct suggests considering the 'Danish Institute for Human Rights´ to use Human Rights and Business country risk analysis.
- 3.
The contents of Principle 11, the NICE Code of Conduct Principles—Nordic Fashion Association and Nordic Initiative Clean and Ethical—NICE—and Global Compact (2012, p. 99) are reproduced.
- 4.
Based on Ovis 21 www.ovis21.com Accessed: 1 Mar 2016.
- 5.
Based on B Corp Web site (https://www.bcorporation.net/) and the Savory Institute’s Web site (http://savory.global/) Accessed: 1 Mar 2016.
- 6.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA Source: PETA’s Web site www.peta.org Accessed 1 Mar 2016.
- 7.
Exchange of e-mails with Ms. Hannah Schein, associate director of Cruelty Investigations| People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The author has a letter presented by PETA.
- 8.
According to Paulins and Hillery (2009) before 2009, they had a dispute with the Australian wool industry for the practice of “mulesing” including boycotts against Abercrombie & Fitch, J. Crew and Benetton. To promote this campaign, PETA also recruited celebrities, such as singer Pink and Australian actress Toni Colette.
- 9.
See Patagonia http://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2015/8/12/petas-wool-video Accessed: 1 Sept 2016.
- 10.
- 11.
Source: Ovis 21 Web site.
- 12.
e-mail sent from contact@savory.global November 11, 2015. e-mails were always signed “by the institution” under the name The Savory Institute Team.
- 13.
e-mail from Christina Foorwod—Senior Associate, Standards—November 17, 2015.
- 14.
e-mail from Christina Foorwod dated October 19, 2015.
- 15.
An example of this, in another field, is the Biotech Advisory Board set up by DuPont in order to consciously search for divergent views in the periphery that could help define a more robust strategy for the development of biotechnology. The company has striven to include various stakeholders from India, Africa and Latin America in its discussions. It has also invited environmental advocates, such as the former president of Greenpeace International to offer divergent views on the matter. The exposure of high-ranked managers and business leaders to radically opposite views has prompted changes and significant improvements in the company’s approach and strategy for selling biotechnology. New ideas for future business models have emerged in line with the company’s efforts to leave behind products based on petrochemical material and favor biologic-based businesses (Hart and Sharma 2004).
- 16.
- 17.
- 18.
Source http://www.thecleanestline.com/2015/08/patagonia-to-cease-purchasing-wool-from-ovis-21.html. Accessed: October 1, 2015.
- 19.
Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7nKvgaMEaU Accessed: October 1, 2015.
- 20.
Source http://fashionista.com/2015/08/stella-mccartney-peta-wool. Accessed: October 1, 2015.
- 21.
Source http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/17/peta-investigation-stella-mccartney-patagonia-wool-supplier_n_8000144.html. Accessed: October 1, 2015.
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Gardetti, M.Á. (2017). Sustainability in the Textile and Fashion Industries: Animal Ethics and Welfare. In: Muthu, S. (eds) Textiles and Clothing Sustainability. Textile Science and Clothing Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2182-4_2
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