PHOTOS: WORLD'S LARGEST CLOTHING RETAILER DONATES ALMOST £600,000 IN CLOTHES TO PETA-PROMOTED PROGRAMME

PETA US and Life USA Give Away Sweaters and Coats From Inditex After Angora-Free Pledge

Beirut – The world's largest clothing retailer, Inditex, made history when they agreed not only to adopt a permanent ban on angora wool but also to donate their remaining stock of 20,000 brand-new angora wool garments manufactured in previous seasons to people in need. This week, PETA US, along with Life for Relief and Development (Life USA), began distributing the sweaters and coats (which carry a retail value of approximately £575,000) to some of the 1.2 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Photos of the distribution are available here, and more are available at AFP.

The distribution took place in the villages surrounding the Lebanese city of Tripoli, in the Beqaa Valley and in the refugee camps of Majdal Anjar, Mar Elias, Sawiri and al-Marj.

Inditex's unprecedented move came after discussions with PETA US – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to wear" – and in the wake of a PETA Asia investigation that revealed how some rabbits used for angora scream in pain as their fur is ripped out, while others are cut or sheared and invariably wounded by the sharp tools as they struggle desperately to escape.

"PETA can't bring back the rabbits who were slaughtered after their fur was torn off their bodies, but we can still help the truly destitute", says PETA founder Ingrid E Newkirk. "Inditex's gift will go a long way towards making the world a kinder place for the refugees – and the rabbits – who have all suffered greatly."

"With 3.8 million displaced people from war-torn Syria, PETA and Inditex have helped both animals and people most in need", says Life for Relief and Development's chief operating officer, Mohammed Alomari. "When you have lost everything, something as simple as a new, clean, warm coat makes a world of difference."

Inditex, which is based in Spain, own brands Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka, among others. The company are part of a growing list of more than 70 top brands and retailers – including French Connection, ASOS, Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney and Tommy Hilfiger – that have permanently banned angora wool as a result of PETA Asia's investigation.

For a complete list of retailers that have ceased angora sales, please click here, or visit PETA.org.uk for more information.

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