VEGAN POWER SQUAD FIGHTS TO END CRUELTY IN FASHION

The new campaign features celebrities such as R&B artist Mya, musician DΔWN, and actress Evanna Lynch who encourage shoppers to choose animal-friendly fabrics.

A group of female vegan celebrities and social media influencers recently launched a campaign with a bold message for the fashion industry: The future of the industry is cruelty-free and vegan. The campaign video, produced by international animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), features actresses Evanna Lynch, Daniella Monet, Renee Olstead, and Harley Quinn Smith; R&B artist Mýa; musician DΔWN; influencers Yovana Mendoza, Jenné Claiborne, and Cammie Scott; and Meg and Komie Vora of Los Angeles vegan fashion brand Delikate Rayne. In the video, the women encourage their combined eight million social media followers to consider the animals who are exploited and killed for fashion, and share the reasons why they choose vegan leather, faux fur, wool-free knits, and other animal-friendly fabrics. “I remember as a teenager, going shopping for purses and … someone trying to sell [one] to me as genuinely leather as if that was a good thing,” Harry Potter star and vegan activist Evanna Lynch said in the video. “I was, like, but isn’t leather somebody’s skin?” The campaign also includes a limited-edition PETA x Delikate Rayne faux-suede cap emblazoned with the phrase, “game changer.” Twenty percent of the cap’s proceeds will be donated to PETA. The stars’ message comes at a time when designers and consumers are eschewing the fashion industry’s cruel practices. This year, Los Angeles and San Francisco voted to ban fur sales within city limits, and major designers such as Coach, Jean Paul Gaultier, DKNY, Donna Karan, and Versace announced that they will no longer use fur in upcoming collections.