Prada’s first ‘Animal Welfare Policy' is criticized as unambitious and disappointing 

No indication of a gradual phase-out of problematic animal materials. We encourage the Group to do so!

The first ever Animal Welfare Policy published by luxury Italian fashion house the Prada Group has been criticized by animal protection organizations LAV and Humane Society International/Europe for being unambitious in terms of eradicating animal suffering from its supply chains.

The policy, which sets out its sourcing methods for raw materials derived from animals such as feathers (for lining and decoration), leathers (from bovine to “exotic” skins) and yarns (sheep wool, cashmere, mohair, alpaca and other fibers, relies on industry-run certification schemes which often fail on transparency, sustainability and credible welfare standards, say LAV and HSI/Europe.

A great disappointment! After the significant milestones achieved in 2020 with the announcements of the complete phase-out of fur first and then kangaroo leather, following ongoing relations with the company, particularly regarding the most critical supply chains such as those for exotic skins and feathers, we expected further sustainability commitments. Instead, the Prada Group has merely listed the ‘responsible' certifications from which it will continue to source; the only positive development is the decision to stop using angora wool (a fiber obtained from rabbits through cruel methods). Simone Pavesi, LAV's Head of Animal-Free Fashion

A few years ago, we celebrated the Prada Group for making the ethical choice to reject certain animal-derived materials. Its new animal welfare policy was an opportunity to build on those ethics, but instead it raises serious concerns about the brand's understanding of acceptable animal welfare standards and its unquestioning willingness to defer to industry-run certification schemes. We can only shake our heads at the Prada Group's continued use of extremely problematic materials such as skins from wild-caught or ranched reptiles, or feathers from birds who could have derived from the foie gras industry. From our dialogue with the company, we had hoped for more vision, in tune with consumers' growing expectations for truly cruelty-free products. Martina Pluda, Director for Italy with HSI/Europe

Among the most controversial points of Prada's Animal Welfare Policy, we note the following:

• In the Vision and Goals section, Prada states: "The Group aims to source animal fibers and materials only from responsible supply chains through robust verification schemes, with measurable metrics and built-in traceability”; unfortunately, this statement is inconsistent with what the company itself writes regarding the certification systems from which it sources. For example, for feathers and ostrich leather, it states that "The Group is aware that the standard (SAOBC - South African Ostrich Business Chamber) is yet facing full deployment and still requires attention regarding robustness and establishment of a chain of custody”.
• In the Core Principles section, the company declares that it "is committed to phase out in the future other animal-based materials whose sourcing - according to scientific evidence- is not aligned with this Policy"; however, this policy merely cites industry standards (even acknowledging that some are incomplete and need further verification) which are written by the same animal breeders/suppliers of the animal materials to which they refer; the company does not define its own standards with which suppliers should comply. Moreover, the company's decision on the potential phase-out of certain materials should not be based solely on "scientific" evaluations but must also include ethical considerations and public opinion.
• In the Animal Welfare Commitment section, the company states that: "chosen standard schemes are selected based on their performance and must contain sound criteria across the key areas of traceability, transparency, quality of animal welfare practices and verification methodology"; however, several industry standards mentioned in the policy are not public, thus lacking transparency (for example, for reptiles, those of the International Crocodilian Farmers Association and the Responsible Reptile Sourcing Standard, as well as the South African Ostrich Business Chamber for the ostrich leather and feather supply chain).

Finally, the Prada Group declares that animal leather is a key material; nevertheless, in the Group's Animal Welfare Policy, there is no trace of industry standards or specific actions taken by the company in terms of greater protection for animals in this supply chain beyond what is already provided for by the minimum legal standards in the countries from which the Group sources (countries that, not being specified, may also be outside the EU and thus have even lower parameters than European ones).

The production of animal materials for fashion, besides ethical issues, also presents clear environmental problems, such as greenhouse gas emissions, substantial water consumption and pollution and land use. Considering that the Prada Group has decided to strongly commit to sustainability in fashion, becoming a member of the 'The Fashion Pact' network (an initiative by French President Emmanuel Macron with François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering Group) and the 'Fashion Taskforce' under the Sustainable Markets Initiative of King Charles III, we encourage and ask the Prada Group to define and make public, for the sake of consistency, an ambitious roadmap from now until 2030 for the reduction and final phase-out of problematic animal materials. LAV and HSI

For further information:

• Prada Group Animal Welfare Policy

• LAV's dedicated page to Animal-Free Fashion

• HSUS's dedicated page to Fur-Free Fashion