Adah Sharma wants everyone to keep the horrors of the slaughterhouse out of their closets.
Actress Adah Sharma has teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India on a new campaign exposing leather cruelty.
Adah Sharma has joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India in a new campaign to draw attention to the suffering of more than 1.4 billion cows, sheep and goats and millions of other animals killed each year by the toxic leather industry.
To urge shoppers to stay away from the violently obtained material, Adah posed for the campaign in which she is seen terrified as she is being skinned alive. The campaign, which features the words “Leather is a scam” and “Your leather jacket was someone”, was shot by photographer Tejas Nerurkar. Adah was styled by Juhi Ali and her hair and makeup were done by Snehal Chandorkar and Mitanshi Dabi respectively.
On August 20, the campaign images were released in Mumbai, where Adah, looking vibrant in an orange ensemble, voiced her opinion on the occasion. “Cows, buffalos, snakes and crocodiles, which are sentient, feel the same pain and fear as we do, but are forced to endure tremendous suffering only to be killed to make leather bags and shoes that can be made from vegan leather,” says Sharma. “My friends at PETA India and I are urging everyone to keep the horrors of the slaughterhouse out of their closets by opting for vegan fashion. You can look great without killing animals.”
In the campaign video, Adah also shares her impressions of the horrors of slaughterhouses where animals are skinned alive. Animals used for leather production in India are often packed into vehicles so tightly that many are injured or die on the way to the slaughterhouse. If they survive the journey, their throats are slit in full view of other animals. Leather production is also devastating to the planet, as huge amounts of toxic chemicals are needed to turn animal skin into leather, and tannery runoff poisons local waterways.
Considering the animal welfare, environmental and human health issues associated with the production of animal-derived materials, vegan fashion is the future. On a previous World Fashion Day, 33 leading designers agreed to stop using leather after PETA India and Lakmé Fashion Week asked them to stop using the material to protect animals and the environment. Leading designers who will not use leather include Gaurav Gupta, Masaba Gupta, Monica and Karishma, Aneeth Arora, Ranna Gill, Shyamal & Bhumika, Sonaakshi Raaj, Siddartha Tytler, Rina Dhaka, Vikram Phadnis, Rocky Star, Atsu Sekhose, Dev R Nil and Akshat Bansal. Anita Dongre and Purvi Doshi have been leather-free for a while.
Sharma joins a growing list of celebrities, including Raveena Tandon, Sunny Leone, Dia Mirza, Sonakshi Sinha, Ileana D'Cruz, Harshvardhan Rane, Dipannita Sharma, Milind Soman and Jacqueline Fernandez, who have partnered with PETA India to promote ethical fashion.
