PETA launches new campaign against the wool industry

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Dec 14, 2016

PETA has unveiled its new campaign, fronted by actor Joaquin Phoenix. The campaign focuses on bringing to light what the animal rights group says is cruelty to animals practiced by the wool industry.

The new ad features Joaquin Phoenix, surrounded by a meadow of sheep, alongside the slogan “Cruelty Doesn’t Suit Me. Please Leave Wool Out of Your Wardrobe.” The campaign stresses that contrary to popular belief, wool isn't usually sheared off the sheep, but taken off the sheep in a painful, gruesome manner. Through campaigns like this, PETA has convinced Stella McCartney and Patagonia to cut ties with wool suppliers.

"It’s easy for us to sympathize with the animals,” Phoenix says in a video for PETA, “but the workers are incentivized to move as quickly as possible.... It’s apparent that for the quantity that they’re trying to gather, it’s impossible to do that in a humane way. The only option is to not use wool. That’s become abundantly clear."

This isn’t the first time Phoenix has paired up with the animal rights organization. In 2014, Phoenix appeared in a video produced by PETA. The video featured the actor drowning, set to mimic what a fish experiences when it dies out of water.

Phoenix has been a campaigner for animal rights for years. Several years ago, he publicly vowed to never wear leather or fur. Tuesday morning, in conjunction with his new PETA campaign, the actor wore a wool-alternative suit by vegan brand Brave GentleMan to the unveiling of the campaign.

In the past, PETA has tapped Eva Mendes, Alicia Silverstone, Olivia Munn, Penelope Cruz, and Pamela Anderson for campaigns.