In Australia, where more than 50 percent of the world’s merino wool—which is used in products ranging from clothing to carpets—comes from, lambs are forced to endure a gruesome procedure called mulesing, in which huge chunks of skin and flesh are cut from the animals’ backsides, without any painkillers. Millions of these sheep are then shipped to the Middle East on crowded multilevel ships. These journeys, which can last for months, are to countries where animal welfare standards are non-existent. The suffering sheep are dragged off the ships, loaded onto trucks, and dragged by their ears and legs to unregulated slaughterhouses, where their throats are slit while they are still conscious.

Sheep are gentle individuals who, like all animals, feel pain, fear, and loneliness. But because there is a market for their fleece and skins, they are treated as nothing more than wool-producing machines.

No amount of fluff can hide the fact that anyone who buys wool supports a cruel and bloody industry. There are plenty of durable, stylish, and warm fabrics available that aren’t made from animal skins. Please join the millions of people all over the world who know that compassion is the fashion. Save a sheep—don’t buy wool.