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LIFW designers boycott Australian wool
Indian designers said on Wednesday that they are boycotting the use of Australian merino wool in their catwalk creations as the sheep were subjected to "horrible cruelty" by transporters and exporters.
Indian designers said on Wednesday that they are boycotting the use of Australian merino wool in their catwalk creations as the sheep were subjected to "horrible cruelty" by transporters and exporters.
"We are going to stay clear of using Australian merino wool as the sheep are subjected to horrible, horrible cruelty," homespun Delhi designer Rohit Bal said on the sidelines of the India fashion week which started on Wednesday.
Anuradha Sawhney, senior official in India from the People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which is leading the global campaign against Australian merino wool, said India is the third largest importer of Australian wool.
It said the Australian product accounted for 60 percent of Indias raw wool imports and all of its apparel-grade wool last year.
"I am so disappointed to hear about the cruelty inflicted on Australian sheep. Until sheep mutilations and transport of Australian sheep on open-deck ships in the freezing cold ends I will not use Australian wool in my designs," said designer Hemant Trevedi.
Star designer Rina Dhaka whose fall-winter collection 2005 showcased woollen skirts and jerseys was quick to tell a press conference on Wednesday that her wool came from India.
"My supplier is an Indian wool manufacturer. I wouldn't touch Australian merino with a barge pole," said Dhaka.
Australian woolgrowers acknowledge the procedure they use, which involves cutting away strips of the sheep's hindquarters, is painful but argue it is necessary to spare sheep a painful death from fly-strike -- an infestation of the flesh by maggots from blowflies.
Over 160 buyers including Saks Fifth Avenue from the United States and Selfridges and Harrods from Britain are trawling at India's fashion week where designers are unveiling their collections for autumn-winter 2005.
