Overview
- Three PETA activists walked H&M’s London Fashion Week runway on Thursday carrying signs that said “H&M: Wool is bloody cruel. Drop it,” and were escorted out by security without reported physical confrontation.
- Footage from a separate protest that disrupted a COS show at New York Fashion Week on Sunday showed CFDA president Steven Kolb physically restraining activists, and Kolb has apologized and taken a voluntary leave while the CFDA conducts a full review.
- PETA’s runway campaign follows a PETA Asia undercover report alleging welfare abuses at a NATIVA‑certified South African wool operation linked to H&M Group’s supply chain, which the organisation says proves certification cannot eliminate cruelty.
- Industry groups and NGOs point to specific welfare concerns such as mulesing, note that some standards like the Responsible Wool Standard prohibit the practice, and a Four Paws analysis found many brands lack clear public disclosure about live lamb cutting.
- The incidents raise immediate questions about event security, how fashion bodies handle dissent, and whether H&M Group will face greater pressure to disclose suppliers, change sourcing policies, or drop wool from collections.