Actress Adah Sharma is warning everyone that “Leather Is a Rip-Off” and “Your Leather Jacket Was Someone” before World Fashion Day on August 21. She is screaming in terror as she gets “skinned alive”. The Bollywood actor, who made his big screen debut in the horror movie 1920 and went on to star in several successful films, including The Kerala Story, has joined forces with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India for a new campaign to raise awareness of the millions of animals killed annually for the toxic leather industry, including the more than 1.4 billion cows, sheep, and goats, and to urge consumers to avoid purchasing the violently obtained material.
 
The print visuals were shot by ace photographer Tejas Nerurkar, with styling by Juhi Ali, hair by Snehal Chandorkar, and make-up by Mitanshi Dabi.

Sharma claims that although sensitive cows, buffaloes, snakes, and crocodiles experience the same anguish and terror as humans, they are compelled to go through extreme pain to be murdered for leather goods like shoes and purses that can be created from vegan leather. “I’m urging everyone to choose vegan clothing to keep the atrocities of the butcher out of their wardrobes, together with my friends at PETA India. You don’t have to murder animals to look amazing” said the actress.

In India, animals raised for leather are frequently packed into vehicles in such a way that many of them suffer injuries or pass away en route to a slaughterhouse. Their throats are sliced in plain sight for other animals if they make it through the trek alive. The process of turning animal skin into leather uses a huge quantity of hazardous chemicals, and the runoff from leather tanneries pollutes nearby waterways, which contributes to the destruction of the environment.

Luxurious synthetic leather is widely accessible and is a more environmentally friendly material than animal leather. Sugarcane, pineapple leaves, cork, fruit waste, recycled plastics, mushrooms, mulberry leaves, teak leaves, leftover temple flowers, coconut trash, tomato composite, and more are currently being used more and more to make leather. Meghalaya has demonstrated the benefits of plant-based leathers for Indian farmers by promoting the manufacture of pineapple leather.

Sharma joins celebrities like Raveena Tandon, Sunny Leone, Dia Mirza, Sonakshi Sinha, Ileana D’Cruz, Harshvardhan Rane, Dipannita Sharma, Milind Soman, and Jacqueline Fernandez – who have teamed up with PETA India to promote ethical fashion.

Priyanka Dutta