Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix is urging anyone with a heart to avoid anything made with down, such as duvets and clothing, now that major retailers, including Marks & Spencer, H&M and Lacoste, have been implicated in a new PETA exposé showing workers stabbing and hacking apart birds for items sold with the deceptively named “Responsible Down Standard” label.
“PETA Asia’s investigators went inside farms and slaughterhouses in Vietnam that are connected to companies that sell so-called ‘responsible’ down – including GAP Inc, Guess, and H&M – and uncovered unspeakable cruelty to birds,” Phoenix says.
The video excerpt – which is far less graphic than the full version – shows that birds’ throats were slit and their feet chopped off while they were still conscious, and at another slaughterhouse, ducks were seen moving for at least a minute after being stabbed in the throat.
“The only way to end this cruelty and spare ducks is to stop buying items that contain feathers,” Phoenix, a long-time vegan who doesn’t wear leather or wool, concludes in the video. “Please remember to check labels, and if they list ‘down’, or ‘responsible’ down, think of these ducks and leave the item on the rack or shelf.”