A protest over wool disrupted the COS Spring 2027 presentation in Manhattan on Sunday, but the event continued, according to the New York Post. Demonstrators called for sheep-derived materials to be removed from the runway.
Accounts of the confrontation
The Post reported that Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, intervened during the disruption. According to the newspaper's account, Kolb took protesters' signs, covered campaigner Mason Melito's mouth while attempting to stop the chanting and brought a female demonstrator to the ground. Security later removed Melito, while the second protester was held by the wrists before getting back up, the Post reported.
Melito told the Post that the woman felt as though she were being suffocated and received urgent care afterward. He said the demonstrators were protesting on behalf of sheep and opposed wearing materials derived from animals. The Post reported that the protesters went to a local police precinct and were considering charges against the CFDA; Kolb did not appear to have been arrested, according to the newspaper.
Responses and event context
What U.S. wool data track
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economics, Statistics, and Market Information System, its Sheep and Goats report covers sheep and lamb inventories, sheep shorn, wool production, and wool prices and values.
Neither the CFDA nor H&M responded to the Post’s request for comment, according to the newspaper. Yahoo News reported that the presentation drew Sharon Stone, Lupita Nyong’o, John Boyega, and Michelle Williams, and that security removed protesters as attendees watched. H&M owns COS, along with brands including & Other Stories, Arket, Monki, and Weekday, according to Ethical Consumer.
What the available industry data show
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that the United States had 5.05 million sheep and lambs on Jan. 1, 2025, up slightly from 2024. The USDA's report also tracks sheep shorn, wool production, and wool prices and values, although the material cited here does not provide a complete year-over-year comparison for each of those measures. Globally, wool, mohair, cashmere and alpaca together accounted for less than 1% of fiber output, according to Textile Exchange's Materials Market Report 2025, as summarized by the EU Textiles Ecosystem Platform.
The Post described the protest as connected to PETA's claims that COS used wool from farms facing allegations of sheep abuse. Those claims, as well as the accounts of physical contact and the protesters' possible legal action, were not independently confirmed in the material available for this report.
