Animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is taking a shot at clothing companies that use animals for their products, launching the faux online shop “Urban Outraged” and packing it with clothing made from “genuine human leather.” It’s a fake online storefront, to be clear, so none of the gruesome clothing can actually be purchased.
Inspired by the clothing found in Leatherface’s closet, the “Urban Outraged” line includes everything from jackets to belts, and loafers to dresses, with each faux article of clothing stitched together from human skin. The idea, of course, is to illustrate how horrifying it is to make clothing out of living things, PETA making their point in typically horrifying PETA fashion.
“Humans make us who we are” is the tagline for “Urban Outraged,” and the shop appears to be quite real at first glance, with individual pages for each product that even allow to choose a size and add them to your bag. Once you do so, however, you’re taken to an even darker side of the website, where real images of animal violence make PETA’s point clear.
“Why is it okay to raise sheep just to shear off their wool?” the site asks. “Why is it okay to kill a cow for leather? Why aren’t you horrified by what’s already in your closet?”
PETA explains, “While Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People (all owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc.) don’t actually kidnap, abuse, or kill humans or other animals for their products, they do sell skin and other animal-derived materials from farms and suppliers that exploit and kill animals.
“Every year, billions of animals suffer and die for wool, cashmere, leather, down, mohair, silk, and alpaca fleece production. Sheep are often beaten, stomped on, and kicked in the wool industry. Goats exploited for cashmere scream out in pain and terror as workers tear out their hair with sharp metal combs. Later, their throats are slit in slaughterhouses and they’re left to die in agony. And cows are routinely beaten and electroshocked for leather at some of the largest suppliers.”
“All you have to do is stop buying animal-derived products,” PETA encourages.
There’s even a portion of the website labeled “The Afterlife Collection,” with “Urban Outraged” explaining that they can “turn your loved one’s skin into a handmade item for you to cherish.”
Preview the gory Winter Collection below!