What a fantastic week this has been for the anti-fur movement.
Three major pieces of news from leading brands, fashion events and entire cities standing up against the use of this horrifically cruel and unsustainable industry delivered a severe blow to the dying fur trade.
And the reasons why this wave of opposition to fur is happening are clear: 90% of all the fur in the world comes from China, where there are no laws on animal protection whatsoever. Animals are confined in small wire cages, often resorting to cannibalism and mutilation, left without veterinary care when needed, and finally killed through gassing, poisoning or skinning. Those animals who are trapped in the wild do not fare much better. They are often left agonising in traps for days before the trapper comes and beats them to death.
The environmental impact of fur is devastating: once the skin is taken off the animals’ backs, it’s treated with toxic chemicals to ensure that it doesn’t “biodegrade” (i.e rot) on the wearer’s back. Formaldehyde and hexavalent chromium are just a few of the intense chemicals used in fur production.
The future is fur-free: fashion houses all over the world are moving away from it, international events are banning it and style icons all over the globe are shunning it. See these three landmark victories and be inspired to continue fighting for a compassionate future.
Burberry Bans Fur
The British heritage brand is the latest in a never-ending line of major designer houses (others include Gucci, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Hugo Boss and Versace) to publicly take a stand against the cruel fur trade. Burberry’s sustainability efforts will also put a stop to the burning of literally millions of pounds’ worth of unsold garments. We hope other brands take note and make the same progressive changes.
London Fashion Week is Fur-Free
It WAS a Spring/Summer season, after all, so this might be slightly cheating – but anti-fur activists everywhere cheered when London Fashion Week became the first major Fashion Week in the world to proudly proclaim that this season, the entire catwalk of would be fur-free. The animal-friendly fashion lovers of this world will wait until February, when the Autumn/Winter season kicks off, to see if LFW will keep the fur-free promise it made this season. It would be an easy switch, considering that last season’s Autumn/Winter shows were 95% fur-free.
Los Angeles Bans the Sale of Fur
Following in the steps of its compassionate neighbour San Francisco, Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted this week to ban all manufacturing and sales of fur in the city starting from 2020. Council member Bob Blumenfield, who introduced the motion, said: “This is L.A. taking a stand and saying we will no longer be complicit in the inhumane and vile fur trade that’s been going on for years.”
For the best in faux fur, check out our friends at Unreal Fur. Not sure about the eco impact of faux? Choose the sustainably produced, vegan coats of pioneer vegan label Vaute.
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Photo by Clem Onojeghuo via Unsplash
West Hollywood went fur-free in 2013, followed by Berkeley in 2017. The ban in San Francisco went into effect Jan 1 of this past year, and now L.A. Much to celebrate! Let’s hope the trend continues around the world! Thank you for keeping us informed!