The wool industry’s latest campaign sets up a false dichotomy between fossil fuel and animal-derived materials, evades any mention of sheep themselves, and pushes a natural fallacy.

Collective Fashion Justice spoke to registered veterinarians and animal welfare experts about the practices of mulesing and tail docking. Here’s what they had to say.

People who want to buy wool, and who theoretically oppose animal cruelty may have heard about the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) or the ZQ wool certification. These certifications claim their wool ensures freedom from pain fear and distress. But is this accurate, or a deception?

“It’s hard to say what was the most confronting thing about working on the farm… we are brought up with the death and abuse of animals. We are taught it’s natural, it needs to be done. We are taught their dollar value…”