No-Shear November: This is the final installment in our four-part series.
Alicia Silverstone, Joaquin Phoenix, and Joanna Krupa have more in common than success at the box office and on TV. They’re among the celebrities who’ve made the compassionate decision to leave wool out of their closets. But they didn’t stop there.
After viewing our exposé that shows wool-industry workers beating sheep in the face, jabbing them with metal clippers, cutting them, and slamming them to the floor, the celebrities appeared in PETA ads that encourage their fans to join them in helping these gentle, clever beings.
Silverstone, who posed in just her own skin for an eye-catching “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Wool” ad, said that she never knew that sheep were abused for their wool. “[The sheep are] cut. They’re harmed,” she said. “They get very seriously wounded, and there’s no care for them …. It’s just, ‘Move on to the next.'”
The Clueless star made a move of her own and urged her fans to do the same: “If you’re trying to avoid wool, why not make that leap? Say, ‘I’m never going to buy wool again.'”
Cruelty has never suited Joaquin Phoenix. The three-time Oscar nominee and longtime vegan, who’s joined PETA campaigns against the leather and exotic-skins industries, among others, said that he, too, was naive about the cruelty of the wool industry.
“The only option is to not use wool,” he said. “That’s become abundantly clear.” Phoenix made his feelings clear in his PETA ad, “Cruelty Doesn’t Suit Me.” Outfitted by Brave GentleMan in clothing made from cutting-edge vegan materials, he posed on a hillside with a flock of sheep.
If there was any question about how the wool industry operates, Krupa, who dazzled audiences on Dancing With the Stars, left no doubt in her provocative “Wool: The Naked Truth” ad. Wearing only makeup to appear beaten and bloodied, the supermodel and actor cradled a beaten and bloodied “lamb.”
“At least a human being can ask for help,” said Krupa, who’s also spoken up for captive orcas and animals in circuses. “[O]nce you know the facts, you do whatever you can to not support the cruelty. … It’s all about education and having a heart.”
Silverstone, Phoenix, and Krupa aren’t the only celebs who’ve taken sheep to heart.
Actor Daniella Alonso appeared in an “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Wool” ad that asked fans of Friday Night Lights, Animal Kingdom, and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 to cut wool out of their wardrobes, and in a video for peta2, model and fashion blogger Audrey Kitching filled her fans in on Vaute‘s all-vegan fashion line.
What You Can Do
Share this series with your family and friends—the first three installments are here, here, and here. Explain why they should leave wool out of their closets and ask them to join you in pledging to go wool-free.
