It's Perfectly Possible to Get Cruelty-Free Angora. Here's What You Need to Know

To be frank, nobody should ever buy any angora garment unless it is specifically labeled “cruelty free.”

The angora rabbit is a sort of broad category of domestic rabbit, primarily distinguished by its long, soft fur. This fur actually has to be removed somehow; left to its own devices, the rabbit will clean itself and digest the excess fur, a process which requires a great deal of fiber in the rabbit’s diet. Without enough fiber, the excess fur will get stuck in the rabbit’s intestines, which can be life-threatening. Or, as an alternative, a human can remove the fur.

Angora fur is pretty amazing stuff. The individual hairs are long, exceedingly thin (only 11 microns in width, among the thinnest fibers known), extremely light, and as it does not have scales, very smooth. That last quality gives it a slippery feeling and also prevents the individual hairs from sticking or locking to each other.

The lightness comes from the small pockets of air within the fiber, which makes it an excellent conductor of heat. In fact, some of the properties of angora fur is actually too good: it can be too warm, and its smoothness doesn’t take all that well to yarn-spinning, so it’s often blended with sheep’s wool to make for a more sensible fabric.

As with any animal-produced textile, there are significant concerns about animal welfare when discussing angora. To be frank, nobody should ever buy any angora garment unless it is specifically labeled “cruelty free”; the vast majority of angora comes from completely disgusting situations. Here’s the problem: angora can be obtained without harming the animal at all, but it’s not particularly cost-effective to do so. Angora fur is designed to come off; pet an angora rabbit, and you’re likely to come away with some on your hands. But that’s a slow process, requiring a lot of individual attention for far less volume, which many low-cost factories don’t much bother with.

Shearing is another option. Theoretically, shearing can be done without harming the rabbit, but the angora factories, about 90 percent of which are in China, mostly avoid this method. Shearing is a less precise option because it removes the short, guard hairs along with the long, desired fur, and mixing the two makes a less desirable (because it’s less soft) material.

As a result, many factories rely on plucking. There’s no good way to put this: plucking is horrible. You can search for the videos online if you want, but what you find will be enough to make you never want to touch angora again.

That said! It is perfectly possible to secure enough fabric from angora rabbits by merely brushing them, which the rabbits seem to like, and which is actually required for their health. The only way to be sure you’re getting ethical angora is to specifically look for it, but it’s not hard to find. Ambika Boutique is one of the designers currently working with ethical angora, selling fluffy, rabbity winterwear like hats, mittens, and vests made of the material. Her stuff isn’t cheap – hats and mittens cost $260, and a vest runs for $1,000 – but angora is a true luxury material, and paying that premium is the only way to ensure you”ll be able to sleep at night. And you’ll be super warm, too.