A powerful group of American fashion chains, including Gap Inc, has thrown its support behind a proposal to end the war between US animal rights activists and Australian wool groups. The retailers, with combined annual sales of more than $US25 billion ($A33 billion), have urged two influential Australian wool groups who refuse to accept the peace deal to support the plan. "It is an extremely powerful group of retailers," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign co-ordinator Matt Rice told AAP.The plan agreed to by PETA and the Australian Wool Growers Association (AWGA) and supported by the US retailers would lead to the gradual phasing out of mulesing in Australia by 2010. Mulesing is the controversial rear end skin stripping procedure that Australian farmers use on sheep to protect them from maggot infestation. The plan also proposes a new "non-mulesed" label on clothing to clearly inform shoppers the wool in an item did not come from a mulesed sheep.
The PETA-AWGA proposal would also lead to more humane treatment of Australian sheep exported live to other countries, particularly the Middle East.
While the AWGA supports the plan, two other wool grower representative groups, Australian Wool Innovation and the Australian Sheep and Wool Industry Taskforce, have heavily criticised it and refused to accept the plan. PETA hopes the support of the major retailers will sway Australian wool farmers to support the proposal it has put forward.
The major retailers are: Gap Inc, Liz Claiborne, Lands End, LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Jones Apparel Group and
They signed a letter sent to the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and the Australian Sheep and Wool Industry Taskforce by the global retailer organisation, the Business for Social Responsibility. The letter urges the two wool groups to embrace the PETA-AWGA proposal. Last week, three other international fashion retailers, Talbots, Nordstrom and H&M, pledged to support the PETA-AWGA agreement.