EXPOSED: Your guide to ostrich feathers in fashion

Of all the industries that exploit and harm animals, fashion is perhaps one of the worst culprits.

Millions of wild animals are needlessly and horrifically killed every year for the fashion industry’s profit. And while many brands and consumers have moved on from fur, another equally cruel trend has taken its place - feathers.

Most decorative feathers you’ll see used for fashion come from ostriches. Many people think these beautiful and intelligent animals naturally shed their feathers over time. But sadly, the truth is far more disturbing.

Far from being a gentle process, feather production runs on intensive farming, painful plucking and cutting, and rough handling. All designed to maximise profit at the birds’ expense.

Yet the fashion industry continues to promote feathers as a ‘cruelty-free’ alternative, used by brands and designers who have publicly refused to use fur.

Find out everything you need to know about the truth of ostrich feathers used for fashion, as we expose what really happens to these gentle, social animals kept on ostrich feather farms.

What is an ostrich feather farm?

In the wild, ostriches travel vast distances with their herd. Their long powerful legs can help them run up to 70 kilometres an hour. But on feather farms, ostriches are stuck in barren feedlots and forced into unnatural social structures. They spend their lives trapped behind fences while their feathers are often plucked or cut to sell to the fashion industry, before they are eventually killed.

Today, the industrial breeding and slaughter of ostriches for their feathers generates millions of dollars in profit. There are two main kinds of ostrich farms; those that primarily supply high-quality feathers for luxury fashion brands, and those that produce skins, meat and lower-quality feathers.

Though ostrich feathers are often assumed to be a by-product of the meat and skin trade, feathers are often the most profitable part of the industry, especially on farms focussed on producing feathers for the fashion industry. The farms we spoke to confirmed feathers drive the largest profit, even if they also produce skins and meat.

What are ostrich feathers used for? 

Ostrich feathers are becoming increasingly common in fashion, across big name luxury brands and in fast fashion too. They are used for everything from feather dresses to handbags, shoes and hats.

As fur has fallen out of favour, feathers have taken its place. This material is wrongfully being marketed to us as ‘desirable’ and ‘sophisticated’. But though the material might have changed, the suffering of wild animals remains. The cruelty has just been transferred to a different, innocent wild animal.

Do ostriches lose their feathers naturally?

In the wild, ostriches keep their beautiful feathers all year to help protect themselves from harsh weather and cold. They do not go through a natural moulting season.

The fashion industry continues to rely on the myth that ostriches regularly shed their feathers, and that any feathers used for fashion have been collected after ostriches naturally lose them.

How are ostrich feathers harvested?

Ostrich farms use multiple cruel methods to extract feathers from an ostrich’s skin: live plucking, feather cutting and post-slaughter plucking.

LIVE PLUCKING:

• Live plucking means plucking feathers straight from a live ostrich’s skin. Most of the time, these feathers haven’t had a chance to fully grow and are still immature. There is evidence that this practice incredibly painful for ostriches.
• Feathers can also be plucked from an ostrich after they are slaughtered.

FEATHER CUTTING:

• Feather cutting involves cutting off an ostrich’s feathers above the bloodline.
• Sadly, there is often a second more painful step to feather cutting called ‘shaft removal’. When left alone, an ostrich’s feather shaft will fall out by itself. But to speed up the regrowth of new feathers, farms will prematurely rip out the shaft from an ostrich’s skin. This process can be just as painful as live plucking, meaning there is no real difference between plucking or cutting.

While many people assume ostriches are not killed for their feathers, there is no feather production system that does not ultimately end in the death of ostriches. Once an ostrich’s feather quality declines as they get older, or if they get sick, they are often sent to a slaughterhouse. Ostriches bred for lower quality feathers are killed at barely one year old. The devastating truth is ostriches are always eventually killed for their feathers.

Feathers are increasing on red carpets and runways

Feathers are everywhere right now - from red carpets at the Met Gala and Oscars, to recent collections from Valentino, Chanel and Dior.

Most luxury fashion brands abandoned fur once customers saw the horrific cruelty animals endured on fur farms. But some still consider ostrich feathers to be cruelty-free despite the immense suffering of ostriches on feather farms. Luxury fashion houses are responsible for boosting this trend, with ostrich feathers trickling down to fast fashion giants like Shein.

What are some cruelty-free alternatives to feathers?

In good news, some in the industry are choosing kindness and abandoning feathers. Glassons, The Iconic and ASOS have all put policies in place to ban ostrich feathers from their collections.

And Fashion Weeks are shifting too - Melbourne Fashion Week, Australian Fashion Festival and Australian Fashion Week have all introduced wildlife-friendly policies that include a ban on ostrich feathers.

Some fashion pioneers are proving designers can still achieve the movement and lightness of feathers without the cruelty.

Stella McCartney launched her 2026 Spring/Summer collection featuring material innovation ‘FEVVERS’. This entirely plant-based material looks incredibly similar to ostrich feathers, achieving the same floaty, fluffy appearance without needless animal suffering.