Two-Thirds of Fashion Brands Fail to Address One of Wool’s Biggest Cruelty Issues

• New FOUR PAWS report reveal how consumers are left in the dark

Cape Town, 14 October 2025 – Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS’ new report investigates the efforts of over 100 fashion brands in eleven countries in addressing major animal welfare issue – live lamb cutting (LLC) within their wool supply chain. The itchy truth: 67% of brands fail to clearly disclose how they address LLC – an archaic and brutal mutilation practice affecting ten million lambs annually – in their sourcing policies, product labelling, or both, leaving the public in the dark about animal welfare standards. Scoring zero points, luxury-brand Michael Kors hits the bottom of the listed fashion brands. Despite 84% of the examined brands publicly opposing mutilation by LLC, the majority of them fail to provide certification information at the point of sale. The leading brands in wool transparency include outdoor brands Patagonia (USA), Ortovox (Germany) and Arcteryx (Canada), as well as mid-range streetwear brand COS (Sweden) and German retailer Tchibo. FOUR PAWS urges fashion brands to commit to certified wool that is free from LLC, and to ensure transparent product labelling that empowers consumers to make ethical choices.

Wool is by far the most commonly used animal fibre in global fashion, yet more than half of the wool used for apparel involves the cruel and outdated practice of live lamb cutting (also known as mulesing). It is a global issue with one country at the center: Australia – the world’s largest wool exporter and the only nation where LLC is still practiced.

“Every year, ten million lambs suffer excruciating pain due to live lamb cutting — despite effective and kind alternatives. Consumers don’t want to support animal cruelty; they want brands to enable informed and ethical choices. While most brands claim to oppose this mutilation, words alone aren’t enough. Real change comes through concrete actions – policy commitments, diligent sourcing and transparent labelling that empower consumers and protect animals,” says Rebecca Picallo Gil live lamb cutting campaign manager at FOUR PAWS.

Call on brands to protect lambs
Dialogue pays off: The investigations show that 25% of fashion brands have undertaken concrete actions after they were contacted by FOUR PAWS for the compilation of this report – eight brands including H&M, Jack Wolfskin and Marc O’Polo have strengthened their wool policies – by stating their exclusive use of certified LLC-free wool. Eleven brands such as Barbour, Coop, Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf published a time bound commitment to do so by 2030. Nine other brands such as Tom Tailor and BRAX have improved their product labelling. Of the brands that use only certified LLC-free wool (19%), only half disclose this on their products – highlighting that there is still room for improvement when it comes to consumer transparency.

“It is promising to see that 26 fashion brands have followed our recommendations and taken a clear stand for greater animal welfare in their supply chains. We welcome dialogue with all brands and want to encourage them to create a kinder future for millions of lambs while giving consumers the chance to choose it. Fashion free from live lamb cutting isn’t just the future consumers want, it’s also smart business, and demand is only growing, says Rebecca Picallo Gil.

Michael Kors: Scoring poorly
The U.S. fashion label: displayed unresponsiveness to FOUR PAWS’ outreach, no transparency regarding wool sourcing, and no commitment to LLC-free certifications. In response, FOUR PAWS is mobilising animal advocates and fashion lovers around the world to urge Michael Kors to commit to certified wool free from live lamb cutting.

“Michael Kors, protecting lambs is not a luxury, but a necessity,” concludes Rebecca Picallo Gil.

A growing market demand for more kindness
In recent months, demand for LLC-free wool has surged to unprecedented levels. At the Nanjing Wool Market Conference in China this September—echoing similar calls made at the International Wool Textile Congress in France earlier in July—Australian exporters, growers, and brokers received a clear message to decrease production of wool that is not certified LLC-free. Positively, also last month saw a unified stance from key industry bodies: the Australian Council of Wool Exporters and Processors (ACWEP), the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia (NCWSBA), and Wool Producers Australia (WPA) jointly called for a nationally coordinated strategy to address LLC. While this marks a pivotal moment, no concrete steps have yet been outlined, and clear leadership remains absent. Australian Wool Innovation, a key industry player, continues to cause a lack of confidence in viable alternatives. FOUR PAWS emphasizes the urgent need for fashion brands to take responsibility for the welfare of animals within their supply chains, and for the Australian wool sector to align with evolving market expectations, as well as to set a concrete action plan. FOUR PAWS further urges the Australian governments to finally ban this practice once and for all.

Background
About the Transparency report
For this report, FOUR PAWS carried out in-store investigations of 102 fashion brands across Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US, as well as desktop research to:
– Evaluate their policy on excluding live lamb cut wool
– Build a stronger understanding of brand behaviour regarding LLC disclosure
– Determine whether brands are helping consumers avoid wool from sheep subjected to LLC
This report focuses specifically on LLC and does not assess broader animal welfare practices. FOUR PAWS reviewed brands’ wool sourcing policies, online product descriptions and in-store on-product labelling to determine levels of transparency and action on this issue.

About Live Lamb Cutting
Live lamb cutting is a result of poor breeding practices that have left Merino sheep in Australia highly vulnerable to a condition called flystrike. Despite viable alternatives, lambs as young as two weeks are torn from their mothers and restrained in metal cradles, unable to escape what comes next. Using sharp shears, similar to garden shears, a palm-sized section of skin from around the lamb’s tail and genitals is cut off — all without adequate pain relief. Severe pain lasts for days, the wounds take weeks to heal, the scars remain a lifetime.

For more information, please visit our website www.four-paws.org.za

Author: Deidre Daniels .