A Compassionate Collaboration Award is on its way from PETA to Martha Stewart and Payless, whose new “Martha Everyday” footwear line is made with 100 percent vegan leather.
Payless and Stewart will each receive a framed certificate and delicious cow-shaped vegan chocolates.
“PETA is recognizing Payless and Martha Stewart for creating stylish shoes that kick cruelly obtained animal skins to the curb,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Vegan leather accessories spare countless animals’ lives, help the environment, and are available at every price point, so it’s no wonder that shoppers are clamoring for new cruelty-free designs.”
Cows destined to be killed for leather endure the same abuse as those in the meat industry do, including dehorning, castration, and branding — all without painkillers. Animal agriculture is a major producer of the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change and, according to the United Nations, is “a top contributor to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.”
