The not-so-fab fad: feather hair extensions
I’m sure you’ve seen feather extensions all over these days from celebrities to fashion spreads to people on the street, but did you know there’s more to those feathers than what meets the eye? Yes, some feathers are fake, but chances are they came from roosters that were killed to get them.
According to PETA, “[r]oosters used to make these extensions are bred and genetically altered to produce long, luxurious saddle feathers (the ones on their backsides, which take years to grow) before they are killed and de-feathered.”
It’s sad that something so useless and, for most people, meaningless has become so huge and leads to so many animal deaths. You can get the above leaflet to share here and peta2 even has a great little DIY cruelty-free version. This is a simple take action post: just don’t buy it and let others know not to either. Thanks, guys!
(Image from peta2 newsletter, also found here: peta2.com)
24 August 2011 / Animals, Fashion
Tags: feathers, roosters, take action, trend
Comments
24 August 2011 - 7:42 am
that’s crazy! i would just get the cheap claire’s kind, haha, i’m pretty sure those aren’t real!
24 August 2011 - 1:07 pm
I read the news article that exposed this last month in a newspaper, and I was shocked. A week after that, my mom had the idea to buy my cousin and I some feather hair extensions from Sephora. I was like, Nooooo way.
(It made for some awkwardness after I told her why, but it passed, and it hasn’t come up again)
I’m so glad you made a post about this. There’s a Change.org petition I came across about this, too:
http://www.change.org/petitions/steven-tyler-stop-wearing-rooster-feather-hair-extensions-and-publicize-your-decision
Steven Tyler wore rooster feathers in his hair during the time he acted as a judge on this year’s American Idol. If he swore off of them, and publicized why, it would do a lot of good in keeping more roosters from dying for fashion.
24 August 2011 - 1:56 pm
I really didn’t know this, thanks for sharing. I totally agree with you Colleen, everyone needs to know this.
24 August 2011 - 5:22 pm
I’m so glad you posted this because I was totally going to get one…..now I feel dumb. :/
24 August 2011 - 6:54 pm
Wow, I never knew they killed the poor rooster for this. It’s a good thing I’ve never gotten these extensions – whew!
25 August 2011 - 2:38 pm
I’m so glad I posted about this, if only to fill you all in! It’s one of those things you don’t really think about and realize, but yet it’s so obvious.
30 August 2011 - 8:38 pm
wow, i always assumed they came from birds that had been killed for meat. i mean, doesn’t that make sense to use the whole animal like indigenous people do? i guess i should have known in this world, people rarely do the smart thing when it comes to the possibility of making a profit. i am very pleased to say that my feather earrings {the ones i bought for my wedding day} were all found out in the great outdoors of montana. the artist who makes them is from the middle of nowhere up there and takes long walks where she collects dozens of feathers she finds. she then cleans them and creates with them. they cost a lot of money, but i always thought it was worth it because of how dreamy it was that my artist was also spending hours in nature to make them. now i’m even more grateful i was willing to fork out the cash knowing the alternatives. thank you for sharing this, and i hope others will start paying attention to where their products come from.
31 August 2011 - 7:41 am
i had no idea they bred roosters just for this, how terrible! i thought this trend looked great but i most definitely will not be joining in now… thank you for sharing this information 🙂
16 September 2011 - 6:14 pm
Wow, I had no idea where those were coming from! I thought they were fake, kind of like hair extensions (the fake ones that is). I was even possibly considering getting one eventually. Thanks for sharing this! I’m so glad I read this before I went to Lacey and told her I wanted one!
24 August 2011 - 1:18 am
Thanks for shedding light about this! I was excited about the idea until I heard the reality. More people need to know this!