H&M is a brand that prides itself on being a leader in sustainability, innovation, and animal welfare. In recent years, the company has made major progress toward living up to that image, including its historic decision to phase out new down last year.
But animals are still suffering and dying within H&M’s supply chain, with cruelty hidden behind humane-washing labels.
Cashmere remains a popular material for sweaters and knitwear because of its softness and warmth. What many fans of the fabric are unaware of, however, is the suffering required to produce it. True cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of specific breeds of goats, with roughly 90% of the world’s supply produced in China and Mongolia, and most of the remainder coming from parts of Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Iran.
To collect their hair, goats are typically restrained and combed with sharp metal tools that rip the soft undercoat from their bodies. Undercover investigations of cashmere goat farms have documented goats left with bloody, untreated wounds after shearing, and others with pieces of skin torn away along with their hair. PETA Asia has reported that this process can take up to an hour per animal, during which goats have been documented struggling in agony while pinned down by their legs and horns. Once their coats are stripped away, these animals are left vulnerable to extreme cold, disease, and stress, having lost the natural insulation they evolved to survive harsh climates.
Undercover investigations have also exposed cashmere goats being castrated with unsterile implements, often without pain relief, even for babies. Witnesses have reported seeing terrified goats beaten on the head with hammers during slaughter, while others have their throats slit in full view of their traumatized herdmates. This type of abuse is far too common in industries that commodify animals for their body parts.
In 2019, H&M announced plans to phase out “conventional” cashmere, and the brand now claims that “almost all” of the cashmere it sells is certified under the Good Cashmere Standard®. While groups like GCS present themselves as prioritizing animal welfare, undercover investigations of farms linked to supposedly high-welfare certification schemes have repeatedly shown that such labels cannot prevent suffering in industries built on animal exploitation. Using animals for profit and sending them to slaughter when they no longer have value is inherently cruel, and no high-welfare certification system can prevent suffering in animal-based businesses.
Beyond the painful lives and violent deaths endured by the goats, cashmere production also causes severe environmental damage. In Mongolia alone, approximately 27 million goats are raised for their hair. Grazing pressure from these massive herds strips grasslands of vegetation, degrades soil, and accelerates desertification, pushing fragile ecosystems beyond recovery.
The good news is that cashmere is not necessary. Cruelty-free alternatives already exist, including plant-based materials such as “vegetable cashmere,” a soy-based fiber that replicates the softness and warmth of animal cashmere without the suffering or environmental destruction. Recycled cashmere is another option that does not require harming new animals.
Brands that genuinely value sustainability and animal welfare must go further than humane-washing certification schemes and take responsibility for eliminating cruelty altogether. H&M once sold down certified under the Responsible Down Standard, yet ultimately recognized that certification was not enough and committed to using only recycled down. That shift came after sustained public pressure and advocacy from animal protection organizations like Specie Unite.
Take Action Now
H&M now has the opportunity to make the same ethical decision for cashmere. Please join Species Unite in calling on H&M to stop using new cashmere entirely and to transition fully to recycled or animal-free alternatives. Building on its historic decision to cut ties with new down H&M has the opportunity to continue being a leader in compassionate fashion by canceling cashmere.
