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PETA Protests Canada Goose at Flagship Store and Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC

March 10, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

As part of a “Week of Action” targeting Canada Goose over its use of coyote fur and goose feathers, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged protests at the company’s flagship store in Soho and at the department store Saks Fifth Avenue, which sells Canada Goose apparel.

In a statement to the media, PETA wrote, “Cruelty can be found in every stitch of Canada Goose’s jackets and other clothing items. Coyotes used for the company’s fur trim can suffer in painful steel traps indefinitely before they’re killed. Mothers desperate to get back to their pups have attempted to chew off their own limbs to escape. Ducks and geese suffer for down as well—no matter their origin. Birds used for their down are inevitably sent to the slaughterhouse, where standard practice is to hang them upside down, stun them, and then slit their throats.”

Canada Goose traps and kills coyotes for their fur and plucks and slaughters geese for their feathers.

On April 22, 2020, the New York Times reported that Canada Goose would stop buying fur from trappers starting in 2022. It would instead use reclaimed fur, which the company describes as fur that “already exists in its supply chain and the marketplace.”  As part of its plan, Canada Goose said it would buy back the fur trim from its customers’ coats and recycle it.  In a public statement, the company said that its decision was made to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, not in response to the demands of PETA and other animal rights groups.

In April 2020, the New York Times reported that Canada Goose would stop selling “new” fur in 2020.

The announcement, which was met with skepticism and confusion by the animal rights community, did not stop the protests at Canada Goose. After the initial pandemic lockdown in NYC, grass roots animal rights groups resumed protesting at the store.  In October 2020, the Coaltion to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) began protesting at Saks Fifth Avenue over its refusal to stop selling Canada Goose and other other fashion labels that use real animal fur.

Animal rights activists with PETA protest at the Canada Goose store in NYC

“Hundreds of major retailers, including Paragon Sports and KITH in NYC,  have announced that they would stop selling fur,” said Rachel Levy, an organizer of the Week of Action Protests. “Canada Goose, however, has stated that it will continue to sell it. In 2021, when so many fashionable, functional alternatives exist, no clothing manufacturer should be using real fur.”

Animal rights activists with PETA and the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) stage an anti-fur protest at Saks Fifth Avenue

PETA stops traffic in front of Saks Fifth Ave. as part of an anti-fur protest targeting the store.


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Animal Rights Activists Protest Canada Goose’s Flagship Store in NYC

February 26, 2020 by Leave a Comment


The News

Animal rights activists with Total Liberation New York confronted dozens of pedestrians wearing fur while staging a protest at the Canada Goose’s flagship store in Soho, New York City. Canada Goose, a luxury outerwear company, has been a target of anti-fur activists for several years because it uses coyote fur as a decorative trim on its popular winter coats and claims that the animals are “ethically sourced.”

“At a time when the mainstream public was moving away from fur, Canada Goose normalized wearing it again,” said Shay Navon, a protest organizer with Total Liberation New York. “To make matters worse, the Company preys on its customers good intentions, making them feel good about purchasing fur by claiming that the animals slaughtered for the coats were treated humanely.”

Canada Goose decorates the hoods of its winter coats with the fur of coyotes who are captured in steel leg hold traps and shot in the head

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission threatened to take false advertising enforcement action against Canada Goose over its claims about animal sourcing, but it decided against it because the company took “corrective action.” Nevertheless, Canada Goose continues to claim on its website that the animals slaughtered for their coats are treated humanely.

On its website, Canada Goose claims that the coyotes and geese slaughtered for its coats are treated humanely

Animal rights activists have been protesting Canada Goose stores in its North American and London retail stores, at the Company’s corporate headquarters in Toronto and at the home of owner, Dani Reiss.

Anti-fur activists protest at the Canada Goose store in New York City


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Canada Goose Customers Are Unzipping & Donating The Fur Trim

March 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment


The News

In recent weeks, animal rights activists in NYC and Toronto have convinced dozens of people wearing Canada Goose coats to unzip the fur trim. Activists attribute their recent success to a growing public awareness about the cruelty inherent in producing Canada Goose and other fur coats.

Activists display fur trims collected during a protest at Paragon Sporting Goods, a Canada Goose retailer in NYC. (photo on right: Nathan Semmel)

During a protest at New York Stock Exchange on the day that Canada Goose went public, TheirTurn captured two of these incidents on camera.

Consumers who have agreed to unzip the fur have told activists that they thought the fur was fake or that they never stopped to think about what – or who – they were wearing until they were educated by the handouts, the recent media coverage and the anti-Canada Goose posters that have been plastered around the cities.

Rob Banks removes the fur trim from a Canada Goose coat in front of the New York Stock Exchange on the day that Canada Goose went public

Canada Goose decorates its coats with the fur of coyotes who are caught in steel leg-hold traps, where the wild dogs can suffer for days before the trappers return to shoot them in the head.  The canines often attempt to chew off their own limbs to escape the traps and return to their babies.

Activists donate the fur trim to rescue groups that use it to make blankets for orphaned animals.


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Anti-Fur Activists Disrupt Canada Goose Retailer

February 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment


The News

In an effort to call attention to the plight of the coyotes trapped and killed to decorate Canada Goose coats, animal rights activists staged a protest inside of the Canada Goose department at Paragon Sporting Goods in NYC.

Paragon Sports customers watch in disbelief as animal rights activists protest the sale of Canada Goose

After being expelled from the store, activists protested on the sidewalk for two hours, educating pedestrians about the cruelty of fur and encouraging people wearing Canada Goose coats to unzip the coyote trim and send it an animal sanctuary that uses discarded fur to make blankets for orphaned animals.

Activists protest and distribute anti-fur pamphlets at fur retailer Paragon sports

In addition to the trapping and killing of coyotes, activists protested the company’s use of goose feather stuffing in their coats.

Workers yank the feathers out of the bodies of geese for clothing and bedding (photo: PETA)

In NYC, Canada Goose coats, which bear an unmistakable red shoulder patch, have become a uniform for people who can afford them. “People wear Canada Goose because it’s a status symbol, not because they need a coat designed for Arctic weather extremes, which is how the company markets it,” said Jessica Hollander, a NY-based activist who has engaged with hundreds of people wearing Canada Goose coats. “Some people seem genuinely upset when I describe the cruelty, but most ignore me. After all, ignorance is bliss.”

Customers in the New York City vegan restaurant By Chloe wear Canada Goose coats with dog fur trim

In November 2016, activists in NYC launched a grass roots campaign targeting Canada Goose when the company opened a retail store in Soho. Dozens of protests in front of the store have triggered outrage among Soho residents, who are angry not only about the noise but also the presence of graphic anti-Canada Goose posters that have been plastered in their neighborhood.

In recent months, mainstream media began reporting on the Canada Goose protests and the controversy surrounding their coats. The most thorough and balanced article to date was published on February 23rd in The Villager.

Anti-Canada Goose posters have been plastered around New York City

 


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Fur Company Canada Goose Under Siege

November 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment


The News

During the four days after Canada Goose opened its first retail store in the United States, animal rights activists staged massive protests at the entrance, dissuading shoppers from entering and shaming those who purchased coats after seeing images of geese and coyotes being terrorized and killed for their feathers and fur.

In this six minute video, Canadian journalist Zach Ruiter captured some of the dramatic encounters between the protesters and Canada Goose customers on the day of the store’s grand opening in New York City.

TheirTurn, which also reported from the grand opening, interviewed actor and comedian Dave Hill, who stopped by with his dog Lucy to lend his support. In addition to criticizing the Canada Goose for engaging in “mass slaughter” while masquerading as a “mom and pop” business, Hill contemplated asking the company, which uses wild dog (coyote) fur, if it would make a coat using Lucy’s fur.

In October, activists with PETA and Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) staged an in-store disruption on the opening day of its first retail store. According to PETA, “25 chanting, poster-wielding PETA supporters and DxE activists descended on the grand opening of Canada Goose’s first-ever brick-and-mortar store in Toronto. Less than a minute after protesters entered the building—where they were immediately locked in by security personnel—the company’s CEO, Dani Reiss, fled to the back of the store.”

Canada Goose is being targeted by animal rights activists because the company sells winter coats stuffed with feathers plucked out of the bodies of geese and lined with the fur of coyotes who are captured in steel leg hold traps. Advocates say that coyotes attempt to chew off their trapped limbs to escape and oftentimes starve to death while waiting for the trapper to shoot them.

Protest on the opening day of the Canada Goose store in NYC

Protest on the opening day of the Canada Goose store in NYC

The red and blue Canada Goose badge on the coats has become a status symbol in urban areas. Activists are working to ensure that customers, some of whom don’t realize they are wearing real fur, know that they’re wearing a “badge of terror.”

Activists help Canada Goose customers connect the dots between their dogs who they love and the dogs who they're wearing.

Activists help Canada Goose customers connect the dots between their dogs who they love and the dogs who they’re wearing.

Your Turn

Please ask Canada Goose to stop exploiting geese and coyotes for profit.

Animal rights activists stage protests during the four days after the store opened its first retail location in the United States

Animal rights activists stage protests during the four days after the store opened its first retail location in the United States


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