More Than Fifty Top Indian Fashion Designers Pledge To Be Feather-Free Through Stella McCartney & PETA India Joint Appeal Just In Time For Fashion Day
Just in time for Fashion Day (9 July), and after learning from renowned British designer Stella McCartney and PETA India about the cruel ways birds are raised and killed for their feathers, more than 50 top Indian fashion designers have committed to never using feathers now forward. The designers and labels who have signed onto the Feather-Free Pledge hosted on PETAIndia.com include Anita Dongre, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Gaurav Gupta, Shyamal & Bhumika, Rina Dhaka, Jade by Monica and Karishma, Rajdeep Ranawat, Baggit Founder Nina Lekhi, Virgio Founder Amar Nagaram, Shubhika Sharma – Designer and Creative Director, Papa Don’t Preach, Krésha Bajaj, Purvi Doshi, Dhruv Kapoor, Ashish N Soni, Pradeep Krishnakumar of Zouk and Pia Trivedi of Pia’s Faux.
“Cruelty isn’t cool, people! We pledge ourselves to creating beauty through fashion that does not exploit or hamper the rights and freedom of birds. Let’s dedicate ourselves to protecting birds and vow to be feather-free. Kindness is the ultimate style statement”, stated Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.
Behind every feathered ensemble or accessory are birds plucked alive or that did not want to die. PETA India applauds these forward-thinking designers for pledging to leave feathers on the birds who were born with them and urges others to follow their lead.
The designers who have signed the feather-free pledge are:
- Anita Dongre
- Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla
- ShyamalShodhan and Bhumika Shodhan, Shyamal & Bhumika
- Gaurav Gupta
- Monica Shah, Jade by Monica and Karishma
- Arshia Singh
- Aarti Vijay Gupta
- Shubhika Sharma, Papa Don’t Preach
- Krésha Bajaj
- Rajdeep Ranawat
- Nina Lekhi, Baggit
- Rina Dhaka
- Divya Sheth
- Leena Singh of Ashima-Leena
- Amar Nagaram, Virgio
- Abhishek Roy, Roy Calcutta
- Ashish N Soni
- Niki Mahajan
- Anjana Bhargav
- Purvi Doshi
- Preeti Verma, Runaway Bicycle
- Pradeep Krishnakumar and Disha Singh, Zouk
- Pia Trivedi, Pia’s Faux
- Shreya Moona, The Frou Frou Studio
- Sneha Arora
- Richard Pandav and Amit Vijaya, Amrich Designs
- Aneeth Arora, Pero
- Rina Singh, EKA Design Studio
- Shradha Kochhar, Studio LOTA
- Rishi Choudhary, Ritambh Couture
- Raakesh Agarvwal
- Ashish Pandey
- Pallavi Singh, ARCVSH
- Nupur Batra, Ananaya By Nupur
- Dhruv Kapur
- Limerick by Abirr n’ Nanki
- Sidharth Sinha, N&S Gaia
- Jattinn Kochhar
- Rahul Singh
- Rahul Luthra, Raabta by Rahul
- Shantanu Goenka
- Ritesh Kumar
- Nida Mahmood
- Paresh Lamba
- Sushma Mehta Shah, Rejuvenate Jewels
- Uma Prajapati, Upasana Design Studio
- Pallavi Dhyani, THREE
- Charu Parashar
- Pankaja Sethi
- Nandini Baruva, Kirameki
- Sidhant Mahapatra
- Sarthak Khandelwal, Vykati India
- Kiran Uttam Ghosh
- Tejas Gandhi
- Aman Takyar
- Archana Jain, Florian Foundation
Designer Gaurav Gupta said, “At Gaurav Gupta, we believe in shaping the future of couture with compassion and consciousness. Our creations are rooted in emotion, innovation, and storytelling, without causing harm to any living being. Signing PETA’s feather-free pledge is a natural extension of our commitment to cruelty-free design, where beauty is never at the cost of another life.”
“I’ve signed this pledge and joined the PETA family not because it’s politically correct but because it’s something I truly believe in and going feather free is something I will try and push my other colleague to also follow”, shares Ashish N Soni.
“Any cause that supports the well-being of animals is incredibly close to my heart. It’s an absolute honour to be part of this noble initiative, and I’m proud to stand for a more compassionate and conscious future in fashion”, said Leena Singh of Ashima Leena.
In nature, ostriches share parental responsibilities, loyal geese partner for life, and ducks use vocalisations and body language to communicate. Yet, for fashion, feathers are torn by the fistful out of fully conscious, terrified birds or taken from those who are slaughtered. The feather trade also helps prop up the meat industry, since a bird’s feathers can be sold at a much higher price per pound than their flesh. A PETA US investigation into the largest ostrich-slaughter companies in the world revealed that workers forced frightened birds as young as 1 year old into stalls where they were electrically stunned, then slit their throats in full view of their flockmates.
Global PETA entities have also joined with Stella McCartney to call on designers to commit to never using feathers in their collections, and many top fashion houses around the world have already pledged to be feather-free. Innovative designers are creating vegan feathers made of bamboo, metals, or recycled materials.
