I realize that this is not what you want to hear, but please read on… being informed never hurt, right?  I’ve fallen in love with The Farm Sanctuary, an amazing animal rescue with locations in South Cal and New York.  Now… I’m the FURTHEST thing from a nature girl or farm-y person, but I am an animal lover and I’m constantly inspired by humans devoted to animal welfare!

Here are just a couple facts that everyone should know about what we’re buying/supporting:

DOWN

• Down, the very soft feathers from the breasts of geese and ducks, is plucked from birds slaughtered for food or from forcibly restrained, live animals.
  
• No matter how they are removed, feathers normally come from birds who live miserable lives of confinement inside large warehouses.
  
• Birds who undergo live de-feathering may be plucked three to five times during their short lives.

SILK

• Silk comes from the caterpillars of the silk moth, who protect themselves by spinning silk strands to form a cocoon.
  
• Each worm may produce up to a mile and half of continuous thread. To retain an unbroken thread of silk, moths are commonly boiled, baked or steamed alive when they are ready to emerge.

CASHMERE

• Goats raised for cashmere are typically reared in filthy, crowded conditions.
  
• Shorn months prior to their natural shedding time, the goats are often exposed to cold temperatures and become more susceptible to illness.
  
• Goats are often ear notched, de-horned and castrated without anesthesia and sold for meat after their first fiber harvest.

MOHAIR

• While a growing number of goats are being used for milk and meat in the United States, the majority are still used for mohair.
  
• Intolerably sensitive to the cold and parasites, the goats often suffer from chills after their fleece is removed.

SHEEP’S WOOL

• Sheep have been purposely bred to produce excessive wool. As a result of having an abnormal amount of wool, many sheep suffer from fly infestations, skin sores and wool parasites.
  
• During shearing, the majority of these animals are handled roughly and their fleece is removed as quickly as possible. Injuries are common and shearers frequently cut into the flesh of terrified sheep.
  
• Lambs typically suffer from painful mutilations, such as tail docking and castration, without anesthesia. Sheep may also undergo mulesing, a painful process by which a four by six-inch piece of skin is cut from their tails and backside.
  
• When the sheep are no longer producing prime wool, they are commonly transported to slaughterhouses in overcrowded trucks. Many sheep become “downers” and are left to suffer and die slowly from neglect.

A bitter pill to swallow, I know… but here are some GREAT alternatives to all of the above!

This is Jack, a recent stockyard rescue!