NIKE success!
The world’s most famous sportswear brand has finally gone mulesing-free!
Mulesing is the painful procedure that involves cutting strips of skin away from the buttocks of young merino lambs, often with inadequate pain relief. Over 10 million Australian lambs suffer each year from the immense pain of being mulesed, which can last up to three days and leaves an open wound that takes weeks to heal.
Mulesing is performed to prevent fly strike, a condition caused by flies laying eggs on the skin of the sheep. But it is now an outdated practice and there are pain-free methods that farmers can use instead.
For over a year, FOUR PAWS have been calling on NIKE to ensure the wool used in their sportswear is from mulesed-free sheep.
WITH YOUR HELP, WE FINALLY MADE IT HAPPEN.
HERE’S HOW:
FOUR PAWS launch the ‘Wool with a Butt’ campaign which urges brands to commit to exclude mulesed wool from their product range and instead source mulesing-free wool, or ‘wool with a butt’.
FOUR PAWS release the Wool Guidebook as an informative resource for brands and retailers to understand the animal welfare issues associated with mulesing, and highlights how they could transition away from this cruel practice.
FOUR PAWS launch the Brands Against Mulesing list, shining a spotlight on those who are outspoken against the cruel practice.
The Knitting Kind guide is published by FOUR PAWS, highlighting the labels that guarantee mulesing-free products to ensure animal-friendly knitting.
Over 185 fashion brands now oppose mulesing, including brands such as HUGO BOSS and PUMA which pledge to go mulesing free, showing their stance against the mutilation of sheep.
FOUR PAWS publishes a report on the use of mulesed wool in sportswear, revealing severe shortcomings in NIKE’s effort to source mulesing-free wool.
FOUR PAWS launch a global targeted campaign calling on NIKE to stop using wool from mulesed sheep.
Professional and recreational athletes come together in a video to showcase their talents and support for the #StopCruelWool mission.
In less than two months, 50,000 FOUR PAWS supporters send an email to NIKE to ask them to go mulesing-free.
FOUR PAWS projects the #StopCruelWool demands of the public onto NIKE's biggest distribution hub in Europe, in light of their 50th anniversary to raise awareness of this issue.
Athletes take to the streets in Germany to run the marathon and raise awareness for the mutilations of countless lambs.
FOUR PAWS protests outside of NIKE stores in Germany, saying "Just Don't Do It".
Another push, and now over 80,000 emails from supporters around the globe have been sent to NIKE calling on them to go mulesing-free.
Success! NIKE finally goes mulesing-free by committing to the certified Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) in its product range.
We could not have achieved this momentous success without your help. From sending an email to NIKE to running a marathon to raise awareness, every person who participated in our campaign to get NIKE to go mulesing-free has helped us achieve this fantastic outcome. We did it!
Thank you for all that you do for animals across the globe.
