It’s called fashion da’ling!

We’ve all watched 101 Dalminations - Cruella DeVille plots to steal a litter of puppies so she can make a coat from their spotted fur.

Since the 11th century, fur coats have been a symbol for status, wealth rather than for a need for warmth and they really became popular in the 1960s. Now society has gained an increased knowledge on the cruelty of killing animals for the sake a fur coat but many of us are still wearing real fur on many everyday items – and we have no idea we are doing it! Increasingly, real fur trim is used for hoods on jackets, pom poms on hats, gloves, shoes, on jumpers and hanging off keyrings. It’s tragically cheap to make, so even if your accessories are not expensive, there is still a good chance that real fur was used.

Every year ONE MILLION animals are bred and killed for the sake of “fashion”. That’s just the ones that  are farmed for fur. In 2017 alone another THREE MILLION wild animals were trapped and killed for their fur across the USA, Canda and Russia. 

Credit: Upsplash

Fur Farming – The Facts

What animals are farmed?
The animals farmed for fur include foxes, raccoons and mink.

What are their living conditions like?
These are wild animals, genetically programmed to roam through vast spaces but in these farms they spend their entire life in 1m2 sized cage. This causes incredible stress on the animals and leads to serious welfare problems (I’ll spare you the details but if you want more info check out FourPaws on google).

How are they trapped in the wild?
Animals are usually caught by set snares, conibear traps or steel jaw legholes. They can spend days stuck in pain and without food or water until the hunters return. Often untargeted animals get trapped too such as domestic dogs, cats and endangered species.

But isn’t fur natural and “green”?
A common ploy from fur farmers and retailers is to promote fur as being a green and environmentally friendly source of clothing. In 2012 The European Fur Breeders' Association ran a magazine campaign with the headline "Why it's eco-friendly to wear fur", which was later shut down by Advertising Standards Authority. In reality, fur production is not only completely unnecessary but it is extremely wasteful, especially for an unnecessary product of vanity. On top of that, waste runoff from thousands of animals concentrated on fur farms pollutes soil and waterways.

After the animal is skinned, the pelt is treated with carcinogenic chemicals during the tanning process and may be dyed or bleached using additional toxic compounds. International research has shown that most fur contains toxins that pose a serious health risk to the consumer.

Faux or Fake? Tips to check up on your fur 

·      The burn test – (carefully!) light the ends of the fur for a few seconds. If you see it melt a little, it’s fake. If it smells like burnt hair, it’s real.

·      Separate the fur at the base – if you see fabric webbing, its fake. If you see skin, it’s real.

·      Don’t trust the label – often sellers don’t even realize the item contains fake fur. Labelling rules are really complicated and don’t apply to accessories like shoes or bags. Also only 80% of the composition of the item has to be stated.

·      Don’t assume because it is cheap that it is fake – cheap and real fur are almost equal in cost to produce, especially for accessory items. So just because something is not advertised as real fur and doesn’t have a designer price tag, doesn’t mean it isn’t real fur.

·      Don’t assume by touch – real and fake fur can feel the exact same!

Fur Free Retail is an excellent source to check that you are shopping at fur free retailers: https://furfreeretailer.com/

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 Other Resources

Wear it Kind campaign by FourPaws has lots of info on this topic.