schrieb

Esmod Berlin - International University of Art for Fashion
Director MA Programme
Friederike von Wedel-Parlow
Görlitzer Str. 51
10997 Berlin
25.06.2013
Dear Ms von Wedel-Parlow,
As a fashion designer-graduate from Central Saint Martins in London, I learned a lot about the
different qualities of hundreds of materials. I would specifically like to share with you the often
forgotten background information on fur and leather, which made me favour animal friendly
alternatives in my creative work.
I belief, that every ongoing fashion designer should be fully aware of the origin of their materials to
make a conscious decision by themselves. I have sworn of fur after I saw the horrible pictures of
minks with their tails bitten off, foxes being electrocuted and rabbits getting their heads cut off.
I experienced the same chills when I discovered the suffering of cows in the global leather-industry.
Because skin is the most economically important co-product of the meat industry, buying leather
directly contributes to factory farms and slaughterhouses—and all the cruelty involved. Every year
over 300.000 cows are not stunned correctly before their necks are slit and skinned in German
abattoirs. Leather sourced from developing countries such as India and China may have come from
animals who experienced untold suffering—such as being dismembered while they're still conscious,
since animal welfare laws there are either non-existent or not enforced. Leather production and tanning
also require massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, including formaldehyde and coal-tar
derivatives, which can end up in nearby soil and water supplies. These toxic chemicals pose a deadly
threat to those who work at the tanneries as well as the humans and animals who live nearby. Please
take one minute to take a look at my Video-Exposé I narrated for PETA: Lederinfo.Peta.de.
I would be very happy to provide you with short videos and more facts on animal materials through
my friends from PETA Germany or they could do a presentation in one of your classes. Nowadays you
can use everything from luxury faux-fur and python-pleather to create gorgeous coats, shoes and bags
- without harming any animal.
Thanks for your time.
Kind regards,
Stella McCartney