Stacy Lupori is a tiger, otter and primate keeper at the Dallas Zoo. She’s also an Action Team Leader for the Rainforest Action Network, where she helps coordinate campaigns to save Earth’s forests and the animals who call them home.
Did you know that some of the most popular clothing brands we wear use fabrics made from tree pulp? It’s an incredibly toxic process that’s destroying forests across the world and leaving the endangered animals that live there homeless.
As a zookeeper who cares for animals that are directly affected by this forest destruction, like Sumatran tigers, Bolivian gray titi monkeys and cotton-top tamarins, I feel it’s my obligation to ensure the survival of their wild counterparts.
The forests these fabrics come from include Indonesia (Borneo and Sumatra), Colombia, Brazil and even Canada. The trees are being clear-cut, processed into pulp, and used to create fabrics that are made into clothing by some of the world’s most popular brands. The incredibly harmful process known as dissolving pulp, creates a fluffy white material that gets spun into threads and woven into cloth.
This holiday season, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is asking consumers to consider not shopping at the stores dubbed as RAN’s “Fashion Fifteen.” These companies are at the forefront of deforestation for clothing. Through consumer pressure, our goal is to have these companies commit to remove forest destruction from their supply chains.
Zookeepers are critical educational and conservational messengers, acting as a voice for the animals they care for. Our animals are ambassadors for their species and they need help from those who want to protect the wild that’s left. Let’s save the remaining forests we have and the animals who live there by pledging to shop deforestation-free. For more information and to see the list of the “Fashion Fifteen,” click HERE.