Published
Mar 20, 2017
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

PETA protests Canada Goose IPO with share buy

Published
Mar 20, 2017

Last week, Animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced plans to both protest and invest in the initial public offering of Canadian luxury jacket brand Canada Goose. And, they did both.
 
While PETA members gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday wearing coyote masks and business suits as Canada Goose made its initial public offering, PETA equally invested $4,000 US in Canada Goose, buying 230 shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
 
Ahead of the investment, PETA said in a news statement that it planned to buy a small amount of stock in the company “so that it can introduce shareholder resolutions against the use of fur and down in the outerwear maker’s products.”
 

PETA buys shares in Canada Goose. - facebook.com/CanadaGoose


Canada Goose has long been a victim of PETA protests due to its use of coyote fur and down insulation consisting of goose and duck feathers on its luxury parkas.
 
“Every fur-trimmed Canada Goose coat represents the terrifying and painful death of a coyote who was trapped, strangled, shot, stomped on, or bludgeoned,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman, in a news statement.

Well aware of PETA’s tactics, Canada Goose warned in a regulatory filing ahead of its IPO that: "We have been the target of activists in the past, and may continue to be in the future. Our products include certain animal products, including goose and duck feathers in all of our down-filled parkas and coyote fur on the hoods of some of our parkas, which has drawn the attention of animal welfare activists. In addition, protestors can disrupt sales at our stores, or use social media or other campaigns to sway public opinion against our products. If any such activists are successful at either of these our sales and results of operations may be adversely affected."
 
According to PETA’s website, they have used this tactic before in hopes of convincing companies to change certain policies. In the past, PETA has bought shares of companies like Tesla, McDonalds, as well as Canadian athletic brand Lululemon, which again was an effort to call a company ban on goose down. 
 
Canada Goose claims on its website that both its down and furs are ethically sourced. Adding that: “We understand and respect that some people think animal products should never be used in any consumer products, however we do not share that view.”
 
In the long-anticipated initial public offering, Canada Goose raised C$340 million ($256 million).
 
The company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Toronto. 

Copyright © 2024 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.