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Candy Tong
Lynda Haas
WR39C
12 August 2015
Fashion Forward to Faux Fur
Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or use in
any other way is the headline that is showcased in bold font on the home page of People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) website. Whether it came from an animal
on a fur farm or one who was trapped in the wild, every fur coat, trinket, and bit of trim
caused an animal tremendous sufferingand took away a life. It is year 2015, so why is
fur still so trendy? In 2000, thanks to PETA, there were only 41 designers using fur in
their fashion line. PETA had a popular opinion and influence on the people about fur in
the 90s, but today forever there are over 500 designers using real fur. At this years
fashion week all over the world, fur made a huge comeback. From the catwalk to the
crowd, avoiding eye contact with fur is by far impossible at fashion week. Oddly enough,
I grew up in a generation where I was being lectured with grotesque videos of furriers
mutilating cute animals. However the reality is that fur is all over the runways right now,
which means its only a matter of time before it makes it way into the high end stores and
thenwhether PETA likes it or nottrickles down to the more affordable stores at the
mall. But what is wrong with faux fur? Faux fur can be the new it clothing trend. "It's
thetwentyfirstcentury.Wecanchoosetobecruelorkind.Withsomanyfashionable
optionsoutthere,there'snoexcusetoweartheskinsofanimals,"AshleyByrneatPETA
says.

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Withmanyinvestigationsundergoingatfurfarms,animalgroupactivistssuchas
PETA,madetheirwayontoChinesefurfarms,thelargestfurexporterswherethey
foundthatmanyanimalsarestillaliveandstrugglingdesperatelywhenworkersflipthem
onotheirbackorhangthemupbytheirlegsortailsastheyskinthem.Theseworkerscut
theskinandfurfromananimalsleg,andstomponthenecksandheadsofanimalsthat
struggletoohardtoallowacleancut.TooundercoverinvestigatorsfromSwissAnimal
Protection/EASTInternationaltouredfurfarmsinChinasHubeiProvincewherethere
arenopenaltiesforabusinganimalsonfurfarms.Itquicklybecameclearwhyoutsiders
arebannedfromvisitingasitisbecausefarmerscanhouseandslaughteranimals
howevertheyseefit.Onthesefarms,animalssuchasrabbits,foxes,minks,dogs,cats
andotheranimalspaceandshiverinoutdoorwirecages,exposedtotherain,thefreezing
nights,andevenattimesthescorchingsun.PETAsaysconditionsonChinesefurfarms
makeamockeryofthemostelementaryanimalwelfarestandards.INtheirlivesandtheir
unspeakabledeaths,theseanimalshavebeendeniedeventhesimplestactsofkindness.
ChinasuppliesmorethanhalfofthefinishedfurgarmentsimportedforsaleintheUnited
Sates.IThasmadetheglobalizationofthefurtradeimpossibletoknowwherefur
productscomefrom.EvenifafurgarmentslabelsaysitwasmadeinEurope,the
animalswerelikelyraisedandslaughteredelsewhere;andmostlikelyonanunregulated
Chinesefurfarm.Andtheonlywaytopreventsuchcrueltyisnevertowearanyfur.
Designer brands like Bebe and Michael Kors continue to import fur from China, while
others such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Stella McCartney have all decided to
be 100 per cent fur-free.

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However, now some animal activists say that faux fur may be misleading. Some
fear that wearing faux fur sends the message that real fur is fashionable. While others,
like me, tend to disagree. In my mind and of many others, buying faux fur sends the
message that there is a market for that particular product, and buying it may encourage
designers to incorporate faux fur into their collections. PETA tells animal activists to not
be worried because cruelty-free fabrics and faux furs are available in stores everywhere.
PETA continues to work with designers and clothing retailers to encourage them to use
and sell only animal-friendly fabrics. As much as I want to believe PETA and to not
worry, this is the real world. We need a law to stop this non-sense, and to stop animal
cruelty from happening in other countries. Why is this not big of an issue to get fur off
the fashion market? Also apparently today in Canada, fur garments may not be as in, but
fur trims have made a huge statement in the industry.

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On the right is an info-graphic that

shows

animal cruelty in the Canadian fur

industry. More than 3 million
are being killed annually, while
the use of fur in garments has
been steadily declining over the
last decade, the use of fur trim
in jackets and accessories has
spurred a recent resurgence.
This infographic examines the
origin of fur trim, and the
impact it has as it makes its way
from the wilderness to the store.
As mentioned earlier
unfortunately, no federal humane slaughter law protects animals on fur factory farms. The
fur industry refuses to condemn even blatantly cruel killing methods. As on factory farms
where animals are raised for food, the methods used on fur factory farms are designed to
maximize profits, always at the expense of the animals. For as long as I can remember,
selling fur has been a huge problem for the last two decades and it will continue to be one
until more people take action. There are more than enough people on this planet to help
ban fur from appearing in stores.
Works Cited

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"FurFarms."PETA.Web.12Aug.2015.http://www.peta.org/issues/animalsusedfor
clothing/fur/furfarms/
"TheFurIndustry."PETA.Web.12Aug.2015.http://www.peta.org/issues/animalsused
forclothing/fur/
Euse,Erica."DespitePETA'sBestEfforts,FurIsBackinFashion|VICE|United
States."VICE.N.p.,n.d.Web.12Aug.2015.https://www.vice.com/read/anew
generationoffurhappydesignersischoosingluxuryoveranimalrights456
Iseman,Courtney."It's2015.FashionIsFullofVegans.SoWhyIsFurStillTrendy?"
Racked.11Feb.2015.Web.12Aug.2015.
http://www.racked.com/2015/2/11/7986839/fashionindustryfurveganism