Cruelty Free

Cruelty-free products are made with animal materials like feathers, porcupine quills, and shark teeth that are collected from the natural environment or free range, humanely -treated animals. Cruelty-free can also mean imitation, recycled alternatives to animal-based materials. The tragedy is that many materials used in modern fashion come at the cost of cruelty to animals.

THE INHUMANITY AND CRUELTY OF USING ANIMALS AS PROFIT MACHINES Throughout the fast fashion industry, you’ll find animal byproducts that contribute to the suffering of animals large and small, whether it’s how the animals are raised, what methods are used to collect their skins, feathers, and teeth, or how they are killed. No animal should be subjected to pain, fear, or cruelty. Yet the fast fashion industry is implicit in some incredibly inhumane animal treatment. This overview of the more common atrocities will give you a sense as to how animals are mistreated in the name of fashion. PROBLEMS WITH RAISIN G BIRD S FOR FEATHERS Feathers used to create conventional clothing and jewelry come with some cruel consequences, too. The feathers and down collected from birds such as ducks, geese, turkeys, and chickens, are derived through the meat and egg industries. Operations called confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs for short, are also common on bird farms. In fact, chickens raised in confined animal feeding operations receive some of the cruelest treatment of any farm animal. You can see the cruelty of these industries in several ways. Incredibly cramped living environments Most birds raised in a CAFO are forced to live in incredibly small spaces. Chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese are confined in cages that prevent them from standing, turning around, and spreading their wings. Obviously this prevents them from engaging in normal behavior, such as hunting and pecking for insects, raising their chicks, cleaning their feathers, mating, and chasing each other around the yard. What’s more troubling is the fact that the stress of being so closely confined causes health problems. The illnesses common among these birds are high blood pressure, low immunity, and frequent infections and illness. As a result, their food is spiked with a cocktail of pharmaceuticals including:i 

Arsenic: This is a byproduct of a drug called roxarsone which is added to chicken feed to fight parasites which commonly infect these birds. The drug also makes their flesh pinker and more plump when it goes to market.

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Up to 10 different antibiotics: Scientists have found up to 10 antibiotics in the meal fed to chickens. Fluoroquinolones is one of these antibiotics, a drug that goes by the name Cipro. It

Cruelty Free is given to the birds to protect against infectious disease as well as to stimulate faster growth. 

Acetominophen: This is the active ingredient in Tylenol, and is apparently given to chickens to help suppress their pain.

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Antihistamine: This includes drugs like Benadryl which are used to reduce inflammation, but also to minimize stress and anxiety. The farmers don’t really care about the birds’ stress and anxiety except that it slows the birds’ growth.

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Antidepressants: These include Prozac. These birds do indeed suffer from a very poor quality of life, so it isn’t a surprise that they are fed these drugs.

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Caffeine: This is added to their food to keep them awake so that they consume more food and grow faster.

Similar drugs are administered to all types of birds living in CAFOs. The reality is that under free range conditions, birds suffer from far fewer diseases and illnesses because of lower levels of stress. They therefore do not have to be dosed with a strange and dangerous cocktail of drugs. Their natural immune systems can often take care of the occasional health problem. And if not, they are given medications as required and not indiscriminately. Short Lives and Forced Feeding for Faster Growth in Chickens As you may have already noted, one of the goals of a CAFO is to bring a farm animal to maturity as quickly as possible. This ensures that the animal takes up space in the farm for a short amount of time. After all, the efficient use of farm space ensures greater profitability for the industrial-scale farming operation. As a result, the birds raised on these farms are encouraged to eat as much as possible to grow as fast as possible. The average lifespan of a commercially-raised chicken is 42 days; or 9 months for egg layers. When you compare this with free-range chickens who can live to the ripe old age of 8 to 12 years, it is incredibly short.ii Live Plucking During their short and challenging lives, these animals are often subjected to live plucking, whereby their feathers are removed from their bodies forcibly without any pain medication. Tests of geese and chickens during the plucking process shows elevated heart rates and blood glucose levels, which indicate high levels of stress for these birds.iii Many are plucked every six weeks during their short four-year lives.iv

PROBLEMS WITH RAISING COWS, SHEEP, PIGS, AND OTHER ANIMALS FOR LEATHER These industrial-sized animal raising operations are focused primarily on profit, and the health and welfare of the animals is nowhere near the top of the priority list.

Cruelty Free In other words, animals are seen as a commodity, and not as individual living creatures who experience joy and pain. It should come as no surprise, then, that animal cruelty exists throughout this system. Here are some of the worst offenses perpetuated against non-human creatures according to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals): 

Young cows are raised on veal farms confined in tiny cages to prevent their flesh from getting too tough.

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Likewise, mother pigs are forced to live in small crates in which they’re not able to turn around or lie down. These animals are then subjected to painful, terrifying transport and death.

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Cattle are often subjected to medical procedures without any pain relief such as castration or being branded. Rather than rearing her young, the mother cow is given pharmaceuticals to stimulate an unnatural quantity of milk in order to profit milk farmers.

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Sheep are raised for meat, wool, and their skins. During their lives, sheep are sprayed with unhealthy chemicals to fend off pests (there are less toxic pest control methods, but they take more time and cost more).

In addition to these hardships, all of these animals are routinely treated with pharmaceuticals much like the chickens we talked about earlier. A cocktail of drugs is regularly administered to farm animals to help them grow faster and larger, to stimulate the production of milk, to keep them stupefied and calm while living in cramped conditions, and to prevent the spread of disease. Many health professionals are concerned that these drugs end up in the meat people eat as well as the water on and near to these farms, which could contribute to health problems for humans as well as for the animals.

PROBLEMS WITH SHARK TEETH COLLECTION Sharks are killed by the millions (73,000,000 on average) every single year. Most sharks are caught solely for harvesting their fins, which are used in a soup delicacy in some Asian cultures known as shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is prized almost as highly as caviar and truffle mushrooms. In fact, shark fins are the most expensive marine product on the market.v But the practice of shark finning is an incredibly cruel one. Fishers will catch sharks alive, remove the fins, and throw the sharks back into the ocean alive. Sometimes other materials such as teeth are taken for things like shark teeth necklaces and other shark’s tooth jewelry. Not only is the practice of shark finning incredibly cruel, but the rate at which sharks are killed every year is unsustainable. Sharks are important species for marine ecosystems because they sit at the top of the ocean food chain and are considered a keystone species. What is a keystone species? Essentially it’s a member of the ecosystem that is absolutely necessary for the survival of the entire community. As the population size of keystone species shrinks, the population size of many other species in the community also shrinks.

Cruelty Free Shark populations have declined between 95% and 99% in some regions, making them functionally extinct.vi This is a significant problem for the health of the rest of the ocean ecosystem. Over onethird of the world’s food comes from the ocean. So in a sense, the shark population is closely linked to our ability to harvest fish from the oceans for food. The bottom line is this: because oceans are critical to human survival, so are sharks.vii

PROBLEMS WITH PORCUPINE QUILLS Porcupines are one of the newest species of animals suffering from animal cruelty. Used as toothpicks, interior design, and fashion jewelry, porcupine needles are beautiful and exotic. The high price paid for porcupine quills, upwards of $200, incentivizes farmers and other profitseekers to kill the porcupines rather than wait for the quills to naturally fall to the ground.viii Though some countries are working to list porcupines as endangered species, the illegal trade of their quills is a rapidly growing industry fueled by fashion trends around the world. Not only are porcupines subjected to this cruel treatment, they are also prized for their role in the natural environment. Often perceived as a problem animal, porcupines actually play an important part in their ecosystems. They dig around in their native habitat, which helps to increase bulb diversity and stimulates local biodiversity. Without porcupines living in the wild, the planet suffers.

ETHICAL FASHION THAT MAKES ANIMAL WELFARE A PRIORITY Hearts places a high priority on the wellbeing of all animals, whether they can provide resources for our eco fashion or not. But we’re especially concerned that the wellbeing of those animals who do contribute to our fashion are not treated cruelly for our profit. We want to celebrate the lives of animals with our cruelty free products, and that means ensuring no animals were harmed in the making of our ethical fashion! As a result, we carefully choose all of the materials and processes we use in our fashion line to ensure that the health and wellbeing of all animals involved is protected. We take two approaches to our cruelty-free fashion: 

Vegan materials and processes: This means we look for alternatives that are similar to animal products but that are made without any animal byproducts at all. Not all vegan options are beneficial to our environment, and for this reason hearts will not use any synthetic faux leathers or furs due to the long term damage those alternatives have on our environment. We opt instead for alternatives that stop additional waste or unnecessary consumption. Take for example leather remnants, which come to us as scraps, old clothing, or over stock hide that would otherwise go to waste in the circulation of new leather to meet the demand.

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Cruelty free materials and processes: Where no vegan alternatives are available, we look for animal-based materials like upcycled leather and naturally fallen feathers and quills that are collected without any cruelty to animals.

Cruelty Free The following list provides a breakdown of the cruelty-free and vegan fashion alternatives we use in our products. VEGAN ULTRASUEDE AS AN ALT ERNATIVE TO LEATHER Ultrasuede was originally engineered by Dr. Miyoshi Okamoto in 1970, and is made today by a company called Toray. It is created using fine ultra-microfibers that are spun into even finer threads, then turned into a felt-like material and finished with a protective polymer coating. The finished product is non-woven and has exceptional durability and snag-resistance. Ultrasuede and other vegan leather materials (as well as upcycled leather) are an excellent alternative to leather because they are vegan, which means they’re free of animal products and byproducts, and therefore help to protect animals from the cruelty associated with the livestock and leather industries. Naturally Shed Feathers are Cruelty-Free Generally speaking, if you want cruelty-free feathers you need to look for products that are made from naturally-shed feathers. Humane bird owners will simply pick up feathers that are naturally shed from their birds during the normal course of their lives. In this way, there is no harm done to the bird. Cruelty-free feathers will originate from birds that are raised in happy, healthy conditions. So what do you look for in a cruelty-free farm? 

Spacious living quarters: This means that unlike commercial farms where the birds are always kept in tightly-packed cages, the birds will be free to roam in their pen or outdoors.

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Protection when needed, not confinement: The only enclosure provided for these birds would be for their own protection, but would permit them space to spread their wings, peck, raise their young, and run freely.

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Natural diet: Their diet will consist of naturally-available insects, seeds, and other greens that are collected outdoors. Any food given to the birds will be free of added pharmaceuticals like antibiotics, antihistamines, and growth hormones.

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Cruelty-free care: Unlike conventional farms who use cruel practices like beak clipping and force-feeding, loving farms will not tolerate such practices.

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Normal lifespan: Finally, humanely-raised birds are those who are permitted to live their normal lifespan rather than being slaughtered after only a short life. The lifespan of a bird will depend greatly on the species of bird in question, but it is another metric by which you can measure the relative cruelty of a bird’s life.

The challenge is that at present, there are no certification systems for feathers used in accessories and apparel, so there is no empirical method for confirming whether these materials are crueltyfree. To ensure that you are selecting a truly cruelty-free product, be sure to ask your provider

Cruelty Free whether they meet the standards explained above. If their answers are incomplete or vague, look for another cruelty-free alternative.ix

CRUELTY-FREE ALPACA WOOL, SILK, AND CASHMERE In addition to sourcing feathers from humanely-treated birds, today there are now sources for wool, silk, and cashmere from cruelty-free sources to ensure animal wellness. 

Silk: Silk is a natural material whose richness and quality has been highly sought for centuries. Many Asian cultures excel in creating silk which is ultimately produced by the larvae of moth caterpillars. Typical practices for making silk involve killing the larvae either by heat or extreme cold in order to avoid the soiling of the cocoon – 3,000 larvae must die to make one pound of silk.x But suppliers like ours allow the larvae to hatch naturally. This does not diminish the quality of the silks and is much more humane.

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Cashmere: This animal-based textile, which is derived from the underbelly hair of cashmere goats, is another highly coveted option for luxurious fashion. Conventional cashmere goat farms use cruel practices such as ear notching, castration, and dehorning without anesthesia. Additionally up to 80% of goats are killed before the age of 2 because of “defects.”xi Hearts is committed to cruelty-free fashion, and so we source only from farmers who live in harmony with their goats, treating them with kindness and allowing them to live long, full lives. We hope to work with organizations such as Wildlife Conservation Society as well to source from humane farmers.

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Alpaca wool: Like cashmere goats, alpaca are often raised unkindly in the booming business of alpaca wool production. Farmers take shortcuts to caring for their animals without thought for the wellbeing of the animals. As with all animal products used in Hearts fashion, we will ensure that ours is sourced from farmers who live in a traditional fashion alongside their alpaca friends.

As we grow and expand our Hearts family to different traditions, cultures, life styles, beliefs, and economic situations, our stockpile of materials will grow. Hearts will always keep an open mind to how we can all work together to create the best possible outcome for everyone and every animal involved.

CRUELTY-FREE SHARK’S TEETH, PORCUPINE QUILLS, AND MORE! When it comes to other animal-based materials used in fashion, the same general principles that were used to identify cruelty-free feathers are applied. 

Spacious, natural living conditions

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Protection when needed

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Natural diet

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Cruelty-free care

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Normal lifespan

What does this look like for various animal byproducts? This list of cruelty-free jewelry materials will give you a good idea of what we use in our Hearts’ fashion: 

Shark’s teeth: Look for specimens that are collected on beaches from animals who have naturally shed their teeth during the normal course of their lives. Sometimes fossilized shark teeth are another sustainable alternative. These are collected as fossilized specimens from archeological sites. Be sure to verify this when shopping for eco jewelry made of shark’s teeth.

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Porcupine quills: A cruelty-free porcupine quill is one that has fallen from the living animal in the normal course of their day and is picked up off the ground by a human. Since there are no certification systems to ensure porcupine needles are harvested naturally and cruelty-free, you need to ask jewelers selling things such as porcupine earrings where they sourced their materials. At Hearts, we make every effort to source only from naturally-fallen harvesters. However, when our source lives off the land, and porcupine is part of their diet, we consider these quills humanely-harvested in a waste-not-want-not fashion.

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Bone: Whenever we use bones in our fashion, they originate from India where cows roam free, graze naturally in open pastures, and are treated humanely. In fact, they’re even celebrated on a day known as Maattu Pongal – a celebration of the divine bovine.xii We ensure our bones come from indigenous communities where people rely on animals as a means of food, caring for them with respect, attending to their needs with kindness, and allowing them to live a normal lifespan. After a natural death, the bones are harvested and used in our eco fashion.

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Mother of pearl and freshwater pearls: All animals big or small deserve respect, this includes our fellow molluscs. We have created a partnership between our artisans in Bethlehem and a sustainable mother of pearl harvest company to create a sustainable economy using a byproduct that occurs naturally and cruelty-free. The harvest company hand collects the mother of pearl from the shores of the Dead Sea. Our artisans then use their impeccable talent for the ancient tradition of carving mother of pearl to maintain a dying culture in Bethlehem. No chemical enhancements or steroids are used and the mollusks are allowed to live to maturity in a natural setting. It is a harmonious way to save a culture, provide for communities, and respect life.

It gives us great pleasure at Hearts to create cruelty-free fashion that expresses the wild, untamed nature of the animal kingdom. We hope you’ll enjoy our animal-inspired eco fashion, knowing that your purchase is free from all kinds of cruelty to animals.

GREEN LIVING TIPS FOR REDUCING YOUR SUPPORT FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY There are many changes you can make in your everyday life to ensure you’re not contributing to cruelty to animals. Here is a short list of tips for living a cruelty-free life.

Cruelty Free

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Adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet: By choosing a plant based diet rather than one based on animal products, you’ll be withdrawing your financial support from farms that treat animals with cruelty.

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Try a vegan or vegetarian diet, or support free range foods: By choosing a plant based diet rather than one based on animal products you will be withdrawing you financial support from an inhuman meet industry. If giving up animal based foods is not for you there are still ways you can support humane and proper diligence in the meet industry. Be sure to support humane farms by buying only free-range eggs, dairy, and meats. These farms insure that the animals are not given any growth hormones, unnecessary antibiotics, or treated with RGB. The animals are given free range to enjoy a life that they would in the wild with open grazing and room to be free.

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Shop for cruelty-free fashion: Hearts prefers the cruelty-free method for all of our eco fashion. For instance, feathers are taken from a bird, goose, chicken, or duck raised in a freerange farm by humans who care about their safety and health and live long, happy lives.

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Lead a vegan fashion lifestyle: If you can’t find cruelty-free or faux leather, feather, quill, or shark teeth products, forgo animal byproducts in your fashion altogether. Go for vegan jewelry and other fashion products made with Ultrasuede, or that are made from recycled materials. Also, be sure to avoid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pleather as it’s associated with many serious eco and health concerns.

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Take a tour of a cruelty free farm: Get to know your local farmers by taking a tour of their facilities. Not only will you be able to confirm how well the animals are treated, you’ll educate yourself (and your kids!) about how farms function.

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Talk to your grocer: If you visit the same grocery store every week, talk to the manager and express your desire to see more cruelty-free products in the store.

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Visit your local farmer’s market: Many free-range products can be found at the local farmers market. And better yet, you’ll be stimulating your local economy rather than lining the pockets of corporate farming companies.

Weil, D. (2012, July 24). Antibiotics and Arsenic in Chickens? Retrieved July 24, 2012, from Dr. Weil: Your Trusted Health Advisor: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401136/Antibioticsand-Arsenic-in-Chickens.html

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(n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2012, from The Happy Rooster: http://stores.ebay.com/The-Happy-Rooster

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(Cruelty-Free Shopping: What Not to Wear)

Down and Silk: Birds and Insects Exploited for Fabric. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2012, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: http://www.peta.org/issues/Animals-Used-for-Clothing/down-and-silk-birdsand-insects-exploited-for-fabric.aspx iv

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Issues Facing Sharks: Shark Fin Soup. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2012, from Shark Angels: http://sharkangels.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97&Itemid=165 v

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Issues Facing Sharks: Overview: The Sharks' Plight. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2012, from Shark Angels: http://sharkangels.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=63

Issues Facing Sharks: Why We Need Sharks. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2012, from Shark Angels: http://sharkangels.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=163 vii

A Report on the Porcupine Quill Trade in South Africa. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2012, from IFAW: http://www.ifawct.org/Publications/Program_Publications/Wildlife_Trade/Campaign_Scientific_Publication s/asset_upload_file407_15813.pdf viii

"Humane" Meat, Milk and Eggs. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2012, from Farm Sanctuary: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/humane_labeling/truth_behind_labeling.html ix

Silk, Cashmere, Shearling, and Other Animal Products Used for Clothing . (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2012, from PETA: http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/other-animals-used-for-their-skins.aspx x

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(Silk, Cashmere, Shearling, and Other Animal Products Used for Clothing )

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Traditions & Customs. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2012, from Pongal Festival: http://www.pongalfestival.org/traditions-customs.html