St. Louis Furniture Chain Says: Go Leather-Free and See Your Business Boom!

Two years ago, PETA members Brook and Amy Dubman, owners of Carol House Furniture stores in St. Louis-the largest independent furniture retailers in Missouri-made the biggest gamble in the chain's 40-year history. The siblings, who inherited the store from their father, decided to put their money where their mouths are by ending the sale of all leather-upholstered furniture and replacing it with a wide variety of fashionable and durable leather alternatives. The gamble paid off: Pleased by the faux furniture's budget-friendly price tags, customers are buying in droves. Buoyed by their success, the duo is now going a step further by urging every independent furniture store in the country to shove leather furniture out the door and replace it with humane alternatives. The compassionate business owners are sending these stores a letter, along with video footage from a 2004 investigation into the massive AgriProcessors slaughterhouse in Iowa, which revealed workers improperly slaughtering animals, with the result that one-fourth of the animals were conscious and struggling for several minutes after their throats were slit.

The Dubmans point out that the money consumers spend on leather goods supports the horrendous conditions for animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. A Washington Post investigation at the largest slaughterhouse in the U.S. revealed repeated instances of animals being dismembered while they were still alive. Subsequent investigations have revealed similar conditions. In India, which exports much of its leather to the West, cows are slaughtered chiefly for their skins. Old and debilitated animals are marched to slaughter for days and frequently collapse from exhaustion. Chili peppers are rubbed into the animals' eyes and their tails are broken in order to force them to keep moving.

Carol House's appeal coincides with a rise in the popularity of pleather. Automaker Toyota offers only nonleather upholstery in its popular Prius model, and Mercedes-Benz now offers nonleather interiors in all its luxury cars. La-Z-Boy designer Todd Oldham refuses to use any animal skins in his furniture line.

Read our Compassionate Consumer Guide for more information.