The animal welfare organisation Four Paws screened the documentary film, Slay, to fashion students from Elizabeth Galloway Academy of Fashion Design in Stellenbosch on 17 July, followed by the Cape Town College of Fashion Design in Mowbray on 23 August and the Design Academy of Fashion at the Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock on 29 August.
Slay is a feature-length documentary following investigative filmmaker Rebecca Cappelli as she travels around the world to uncover the dark side of the fashion industry. The film is co-produced by the award-winning co-director and producer from Cowspiracy. Slay is a unique perspective on the animal-skin trade by focusing on the animals while exposing fashion’s greenwashing tactics, without forgetting the people who work and live at the mercy of the industry.
The event consisted of two-hour in-person sessions with an exclusive screening of the film, followed by a brief presentation by Four Paws highlighting the organisation’s #WearItKind campaign, which urges fashion houses and the public to drive an animal-friendly fashion future.
The campaign raises awareness of the billions of animals that are killed every year, globally, to make the clothes so many take for granted in terms of retail availability, and urges the public to make ethical decisions in their fashion choices. In addition, it works with fashion houses to improve their animal-welfare policies. Brands such as Country Road Group have taken steps towards bettering their policies and are striving to move away from the current reality, which sees many animals spend their lives caged, living in poor conditions or suffering painful mutilations for the textiles used to create these labelled offerings.
The campaign officer of Four Paws in South Africa, Bertha Moteane, says a “shift in perspective needs to happen. The conviction that leather or fur are luxury items and somehow irreplaceable needs to be debunked. It is important to look at the reality of the repercussions of our global textiles industry holistically. We should be prioritising the well-being of people, animals and the planet, by considering animal welfare before profit.
“As Slay shows, the most animal-friendly and sustainable item is the one already in one’s closet. Every material on the market today has some sort of trade-off when it comes to impact on the environment. However, there are cruelty-free, more sustainable options out there; besides buying second-hand clothing, brands such as Ecopel, Save the Duck and Stella McCartney are revolutionising the way we look at clothes. These brands are the proof that high fashion can be cruelty-free. But playing your part doesn’t have to be expensive. Materials such as hemp, bamboo and linen are great alternatives to animal skins and synthetic materials.”
Consumers are encouraged to:
