Animal Welfare

Due to its luxurious appearance and high durability, leather is used in many HUGO BOSS products – for example, in jackets, shoes, bags, and accessories. In 2019, leather comprised 9 % of all our materials used.

Animal welfare aspects such as the ethical treatment of animals and the protection of biodiversity are very important to us. The use of leather isn’t just an animal welfare issue, it also has environmental aspects, such as in the tanning process – read more about this under sustainable materials.

In late 2016, HUGO BOSS stopped using farmed furs and exotic leather types. Instead, we exclusively use bovine hinds, goatskins, sheepskins, and buffalo hides that are produced as a by-product of the food industry.

We also use vegan imitations in selected styles – In 2017 HUGO BOSS even received the "Vegan Fashion Award" from PETA and the vegan BOSS suit was certified with the "PETA-Approved Vegan" label in 2019. The company also endeavors to develop innovative alternatives in collaboration with external partners, such as startups, and encourage their use: in 2018 and 2019, we launched limited collections of sneakers made of natural Piñatex® fibers, which come from pineapple leaves and are produced by Ananas Anam.

HUGO BOSS uses high-quality types of wool, such as Merino and cashmere, for its knitwear, suits, slacks, and more. This natural material has many positive properties: it is thermo-regulating, soft to the skin, and especially durable. In 2019, wool comprised 13 % of all our materials used.

Wool is one of the most important fiber obtained from animals within the textile production. A responsible wool sourcing includes responsible sheep farming, the gentle shearing of the animals, and especially the avoidance of the painful mulesing process.

The HUGO BOSS Wool Commitment describes all the requirements of responsible wool procurement and especially considers animal welfare aspects as mentioned above. Within the commitment, HUGO BOSS has set a specific target: to increase the amount of mulesing-free wool to 100% in all pure-wool knitwear products by 2025.

We already achieved an 98 % share of mulesing-free wool in our pure wool knitted products, and even 100 % in our pure wool socks.

The greatest challenge at the moment is the availability of responsible wool that meets the high quality standards of HUGO BOSS. Together with various initiatives such as the Textile Exchange’s Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), ZQ-Merino, the National Wool Declaration from AWEX as well as NATIVA and many other smaller organizations, HUGO BOSS is continuously increasing its share of responsible procurement. As such, the HUGO BOSS Wool Commitment will be continuously expanded.

In addition, we have been working with the Aid by Trade Foundation since 2019 to develop "The Good Cashmere Standard". The standard promotes the sourcing of responsibly produced cashmere fiber and defines the minimum requirements for the keeping and handling of cashmere goats to meet animal welfare standards. It also includes social and ecological criteria for responsibly produced cashmere products.

In another animal welfare measure, HUGO BOSS avoids angora wool in its knitted products completely, because its production normally involves procedures that are extremely painful to the animals.

This special kind of feather is popular due to its thermo-regulating properties. As such, it is used primarily for outerwear products at HUGO BOSS. In 2019, down comprised less than 1 % of all our materials used.

Here, as well, animal welfare is crucial. Forced feeding and live plucking pose special problems.

Starting with our fall/winter collection 2016, HUGO BOSS exclusively uses down that is produced without live plucking or forced feeding and has documented origins. We also use high-quality padding made of at least 60 % recycled materials, such as PET bottles, in many of our styles. For more information, see Sustainable materials.