Animal Cruelty in China

Animal Cruelty in Fashion Industry

Every year large numbers of animals, including cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, crocodiles, snakes, stingrays, seals, emus, kangaroos, horses, and more are killed for their skins by the leather and fur industry.

Many of these animals are factory-farmed, which can involve extreme crowding and confinement, deprivation, and painful treatment at the hands of workers.

Most of the world’s leather comes from India and China, both of which are countries that lack animal welfare legislation. Leather is a profitable resource, not simply a by-product of the meat industry.

In this blog, we are mainly targetting China's Industries. As it's the largest exporter of leather and fur, and China has nearly no animal welfare laws.

Animals used for clothing

We all are somewhere a reason for the ill-treatment of animals and slaughtering because we don’t take proper actions for them. 

The high-end luxury fashion brands are no less they buy fur and leather from China at a cheap price which has poor animal laws.

Every year, billions of animals are killed worldwide for the clothing industry. Whether they come from Chinese fur farms, Indian slaughterhouses, or the Australian outback, an immeasurable amount of suffering goes into every fur-trimmed jacket, leather belt, and wool sweater. 

Most leather comes from developing countries such as India and China, where animals routinely have their throats cut and their skin ripped off while they are still conscious.

The exotic skins trade is just as horrifying. Snakes and lizards are skinned alive because of the belief that live flaying makes the leather more supple.

Animal Abuse in China

Leather has long been a staple in our wardrobes, but we tend to forget about the animals whose skins become our jackets and shoes. Contrary to popular belief, leather is a profitable resource and not a by-product of the meat industry. Many animals like cattle, pigs, goats, sheep are factory-farmed, which can involve extreme crowding and confinement, deprivation, and painful treatment at the hands of workers.

The leather industry is one of the oldest manufacturing sectors. The raw material used in the leather industry is derived from the livestock or animal farming industry, then being put through several processes including tanning and finishing, etc.

Today, leather is still one of the most luxury materials that are used to produce a wide range of high-end products such as leather footwear, leather bags, leather garments.

The leather industry is expected to reach US$629.65 billion by 2025, representing a strong CAGR of over 5.4% during the forecast period.

China is the largest leather-producing country in the world.

Leather Industry of China

China is the largest leather producing country in the world with over 6.2 billion sq ft of leather produced every year, representing more than 25% of the annual global leather production. 

Every year, the China leather industry slaughters more than a million animals.

Along with cattle, other animals including sheep, dogs, and cats are killed for their skin in China.

Turning skin into leather uses dangerous chemicals, including mineral salts, formaldehyde, and coal-tar derivatives.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the incidence of leukemia among residents near tanneries. Cows are subjected to cruel practices such as castration and branding.

Little did we know that these Luxury like Max Mara (China) and many more are sourcing their materials like fur and leather for non-certified traders of China but when it was asked from them they clearly mentioned that they source it from certified dealers only, which is not true. There was an investigation done by a company where they exposed Max Mara (China) lies about fur sourcing. 

What can we do?

Before buying any good which is made of animal skin, we should inquire about the raw material, do our basic research before buying any product, go to trusted sellers only who claim to sell goods from certified traders and are willing for transparency in the process. By this, we know what we are wearing is not a skin of an animal that was tortured for its skin. Try to buy products that are free from animal cruelty.

We all can see alternatives for leather and fur, which are plant-based and durable, we can try vegan goods too.

Conclusion

I think it’s high time, we should take a stand, as youth it's our duty to do something for the environment and take initiative. We need to be aware of our surroundings and what’s happening. We should abort old ill practices and start looking for some eco-friendly sustainable alternatives. 

I have selected a small part of the broad topic, animal cruelty prevailing in our society to make people aware of the wrong, cruel practices. We are lucky to have the gift of science here we can always look for better alternatives that are eco-friendly and cruelty-free.

We as humans see our self as superior beings so we capture animals and do experiments on them before trying them on ourselves which is morally and ethically wrong. Nowadays many brands are going towards sustainability and using cruelty-free products to spread awareness. 

 

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