Woolworths on Wednesday said it had removed “with immediate effect” from its shelves children’s t-Shirts found to possibly have animal fur.
“Woolworths would like to advise their customers that it was alerted to the potential use of animal fur in the pom-pom trims on three children’s t-Shirts. With immediate effect, the product was removed from the shelf, pending further investigation,” the retailer said in a statement.
“Independent testing was commissioned and has confirmed that the fibre used in the pom-pom trim is indeed animal fur.”
Woolworths said it remains committed to animal welfare.
“It is our ethical obligation to ensure that the animals in our supply chain are treated in the most humane way possible. On this basis, Woolworth's policies state that no animal fur may be used in any of our products.”
The retailer said its animal welfare policies form part of its contractual agreements with suppliers. It said it takes this responsibility “incredibly seriously” and has therefore taken the decision to recall the products from the market.
The retailer said in “this instance, our supplier” purchased trims from a third party based on our synthetic specifications and did not test whether the fibre was synthetic or from animal fur. They are now placing additional emphasis on managing these sourcing processes better.
“We would like to sincerely apologise to our customers for this disappointing incident. This does not reflect the high standards we have set for ourselves. In light of this incident, we will reinforce our policies governing Animal Welfare to ensure further awareness at all levels and add additional controls and testing to ensure this does not happen again.”
This incident is related to the three t-shirts, of which 1,276 were sold. The t-shirts were the flaming tee, let’s roll tee and milkshake tee.
“Customers who have purchased these products can return them to our stores for a full refund. Should customers want further information, they can contact the customer care line 0860 022 002.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
