Fast Retailing Co. announced on its website that it would stop using mohair in the products of the company's seven affiliated brands, including Uniqlo and Theory, by 2020.
Mohair is a luxury fabric made from the hair of the Angora goat. Animal protection groups have lobbied retailers to stop using the material as it is collected using inhumane practices.
"We came to this decision in consideration of animal welfare. As a global company, we believe that it's our duty to do our best when procuring materials," a company spokesperson said.
Many in fashion circles have recently begun to reconsider the use of fur, leather and skins in products. French fashion label Chanel, for example, has decided not to use so-called exotic skins from crocodiles, lizards, snakes, stingrays or any animals other than livestock.
Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's president of fashion, commented Monday in New York that it has become difficult to procure exotic skins that satisfy the brand's ethical standards, and that the company would use the transition as an opportunity to develop a new generation of high-end products.
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