advocacy for all creatures

Behind the photographs with fluffy-tailed bunnies, innocent-eyed fawns and even the beautiful if unexpected foxes, Stella McCartney’s dedication to animals is not just born from love and respect, it is a necessity.

A lesson for us all, for over 20 years Stella McCartney has ensured her brand is free from animal cruelty – vetting materials, processes and producers to ensure a fairer future for our furry friends. From the brands decision to be cruelty free to her creation of the first Mylo leather bag, ingeniously made from mycelium – the root of fungi, Stella has been at the forefront of a fashion world that works with the planet, not against it.

As she launches STELLA skincare, it has been an opportunity to reflect on the life events that have shaped her stance on animal welfare. “I grew up on an organic farm, as a vegetarian. There was always this harmony of being at one with Nature”, explains Stella. Her cruelty-free credentials have continued to grow, her company constantly reviews practices to ensure they are ethical.

Her mother, Linda McCartney was ahead of her time – a vegetarian, who was driven to share her planet-friendly way of live with others, through her cookery books and later one of the first vegetarian food brands. This pioneering outlook, of being the first and never afraid, is something that Stella has continued to champion. “I have spent so much of my career having to fight and fight, to challenge against the killing of innocent animals or the destruction of the planet but these were exactly the same requirements for my skincare line, of course it had to be vegan and cruelty-free”.

 “It’s unforgivable that the beauty industry still uses animal products in their formulas,” says Stella, referring to those still widely used such as Carmine, a colorant made from an insect called Cochineal or animal-derived by-products such as beeswax, honey, collagen, lanolin or keratin. And it is no surprise that the brand is against all animal testing. STELLA skincare is approved as cruelty free by Leaping Bunny – which requires cruelty free standards over and above legal requirements.