Activist Ireland Basinger-Baldwin is taking a stand against Canada Goose.
On Friday, the 22-year-old model plans to address the parka brand, which considers itself the “(un)official jacket of film crews,” during the annual online shareholder meeting. Speaking on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), she will be calling for the company to halt production of jackets made with coyote fur and down feathers.
“This question is not meant to secure publicity or to redress a personal grievance,” says Baldwin in a statement. “The intent is to end the suffering that animals endure at the hands of Canada Goose.”
Celebrity fans include Ansel Elgort, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Drake’s OVO did a collaboration with the brand, too. Canada Goose is an official sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival, and has had a base camp there.
Baldwin’s confrontation comes in response to a video expose released by PETA, revealing the inhumane treatment of geese and coyotes by Canada Goose employees for their products.
“Canada Goose uses fur from coyotes who are often immobilized in steel traps that can cut deep into their flesh, crush their limbs, and cause animals to languish for days before being crudely killed when the trapper finally returns,” Baldwin says.
According to PETA, the severity of those traps have even led to some coyotes attempting to chew off their own limbs to try to escape and survive. “The fact that these devices are allowed under the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards and the Best Management Practices, which govern Canada Goose’s sourcing,” Baldwin continues, “is proof that these standards are meaningless.”
The young activist also complained about Canada Goose’s “inherently cruel” down production, noting how PETA’s video “reveals workers grabbing panicked geese and hauling them around by the neck. When they piled on top of each other, many on the bottom were crushed or suffocated.”
This isn’t the first time Baldwin has teamed up with the animal rights organization. Just six months ago, the model posed nude as part of PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign. The black-and-white photo, released in February, resembled an earlier shot from 2009 of Baldwin’s mother, Kim Basinger, who was one of the first celebrities to pose for the campaign.
PETA, whose motto serves as a reminder that “animals are not ours to wear,” has had several high-profile successes in the fashion realm in recent months, successfully lobbying Versace, Michael Kors and other luxury brands to abandon fur, and H&M and Zara to ban mohair, which comes from goats.
The animal rights group has also advocated for several “warm and stylish” brands that have taken action against animal cruelty, including HoodLamb, Save the Duck, Vaute and Wuxly Outerwear.
