PETA's Creepy Satirical 'Human Leather Goods' Take Dig at Urban Outfitters

The Twitter handle for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) came up with a satirical and pointed dig at Urban Outfitters, to advocate for a ban on all products using animal-derived materials. The strategy chosen by PETA, however, has confused some, amused some and has been slammed as “insensitive" by others. Taking to the microblogging platform, PETA launched a satirical online store ‘Urban Outraged’, which shows what it would look like if Urban Outfitters “used humans the way it uses other animals". In essence, the satirical online store “sells" products made of human body parts. PETA has even launched a website for ‘Urban Outraged’, which displays these products made of human body parts. They include bags, belts, shoes and clothes accompanied by sinister-sounding messages that hold double meanings. For instance, the tagline of the website is displayed boldly right at the top: “The leather’s on you. The shipping’s on us." With all of that, it’s safe to say, the message, although well-intended, seems to have been lost in translation for Twitter users.

The products have been given regular human names, like ‘the Juliet skirt’ described as “fresh style, fresher Juliet", or ‘the Richard loafers’ which have been “beautifully aged for ultimate comfort". The products all look like they are carved out of flesh and some even carry splatters of blood. There is a skincare option that claims to “take care of your hide". If you click on any of the items and add them to your cart, mutilated animal and human faces pop up on the website, with messages of the likes of “Why aren’t you horrified by what’s already in your closet?" Part of one message explains the dig at Urban Outfitters: “While Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People (all owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc.) don’t actually kidnap, abuse, or kill humans or other animals for their products, they do sell skin and other animal-derived materials from farms and suppliers that exploit and kill animals."

“So wait? The money and energy you put into this, just pissed people off into the opposite direction. You could have used those funds to actually save animals," a Twitter user wrote, and most people in the comments seemed to be echoing the opinion. Many were also alluding to the fact that the move was tone deaf, given that such acts of cruelty had actually occurred during slavery or the Holocaust.

In January this year, PETA was viciously trolled on Twitter when they advocated against using “anti-animal slurs". Yes, you may have heard of racial slurs, religious slurs, but PETA thinks we also abuse animals when we use them as an example to insult a person. While the organisation has a significant following online, and there is no dearth of animal lovers or anti-animal abuse activists on the internet, this suggestion didn’t sit too well with anyone. PETA claims that by using insults like “rat" or “pig" for humans, we are being “speciesist". The suggestion went viral, which PETA may have hoped for, but for all the wrong reasons.

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