Diets are obviously a little different, I'm not going to argue that the animals don't suffer, that would be a lie. Obviously being vegan and veggie are alternatives for diet and are increasing in popularity however the fur industry was created for fashion and for luxury not for diets and nutrients.
The growing fur industry just like much of the fashion production industry has seen a move to the west and to Asia. Although there are some fur producers in European countries with what should be higher animal welfare standards where animals are healthy and appear to display very little stress, with large enclosures these standards are not shared in Asia. Instead, wire cramped cages are often the case with many animals shown to be pacing and with high stress levels and often suffer from serious injuries.
This cruel treatment of animals for fickle and silly reasons is why I believe the fur industry is not only out of date but also irrelevant in a modern world.
The fact that people are not batting an eyelid that fox, racoon or mink are being used to create the pom pom keyrings or the pom pom found on hats is scary. We are killing animals to literally be able to attach something to our keys.
Better regulation of the fur farm industry in Europe is a great thing, it is at least demonstrating that there is some consideration for the animals that are being used but in reality, this is like a smoke and mirror show. Even in Europe and America there are still farms with horrendous standards, yet in Asia, the story is often even worse.
You see Asia's wildlife standards are horrendous, to put it plain and simple. They're a region that's predominantly tests makeup on animals, keeps bears in cages to extract bile from glands, keep civets it battery cages to produce 'civet coffee'. A region that has a huge cat meat trade where they skin and cook the animals alive and are happy to tear fur from angola rabbits. Additionally it's a region who have caused mass animal population crashes across the globe due to their lack of respect for wildlife and demands for ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horn, leopard skins, vulture talons.
Yet this is where most of the real fur used by designers is coming from, where designers have probably paid a maximum of £15 for a skin yet will charge £500 for the privilege of wearing it. Its sick, evil and just so unjust.
Fur farms however aren't the only way that fur is created, live trapping of wild animals is also common, especially in Russia and America where foxes, coyotes, bobcat, beavers and otters to name just a few or trapped where they have 3 options. To chew of their own limb trying to escape, die in the cold or be captured, killed and turned into a coat. To make it even worse, when captured to prevent damage to the coat, the animal is often crushed or suffocated. Delightful right.
Writing this post has got me angry about the issue. You only need to search fur industry on youtube to confronted with some horrific sights. Yes you can argue that we are only being shown the worst but the issue is, if there are that many bad documented cases, how many more can there be?!
Sadly I don't think their is a quick fix, especially due to the increase in fur from China. Instead I think its down to consumer choice, its about us saying we don't want this and us supporting brands and producers that do the right thing.
Faux fur has come a long way, to the point now that it is sometimes hard to tell if its real or fake, thus demonstrating we no longer need its real alternative. For me it's like the first time I tried cauldon veggie sausages against the real sausages. For me the veggie ones were better, cheaper and no animal were factory farmed to make it, so why would I now buy an alternative?
To put a positive spin on this post, I wanted to let you know that there are now ALOT of companies that care about the issue, who only use real faux fur, or refuse to sell the fur items that designers produce therefore reducing the platform to have access to the industry, Net-A-Porter are a prime example of this.
ASOS, Zara, Topshop, Anthropologie, Footlocker, Hollister, H&M, Nike, Kate Spade, Levis, Reiss, North Face, Patagonia and Urban Outfitters are to name but a few of the companies that also refuse to use fur. Supporting these companies instead of those who still sell fur is the best way, along with signing those petitions on the matter, just like the one Lucy Watson was involved with. So heres to the future and high end to designers following Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein into the 21st century where fur is no longer needed!
What do you think of the fur industry? Would you buy fur?
Love
Erin
You see Asia's wildlife standards are horrendous, to put it plain and simple. They're a region that's predominantly tests makeup on animals, keeps bears in cages to extract bile from glands, keep civets it battery cages to produce 'civet coffee'. A region that has a huge cat meat trade where they skin and cook the animals alive and are happy to tear fur from angola rabbits. Additionally it's a region who have caused mass animal population crashes across the globe due to their lack of respect for wildlife and demands for ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horn, leopard skins, vulture talons.
Yet this is where most of the real fur used by designers is coming from, where designers have probably paid a maximum of £15 for a skin yet will charge £500 for the privilege of wearing it. Its sick, evil and just so unjust.
Fur farms however aren't the only way that fur is created, live trapping of wild animals is also common, especially in Russia and America where foxes, coyotes, bobcat, beavers and otters to name just a few or trapped where they have 3 options. To chew of their own limb trying to escape, die in the cold or be captured, killed and turned into a coat. To make it even worse, when captured to prevent damage to the coat, the animal is often crushed or suffocated. Delightful right.
Sadly I don't think their is a quick fix, especially due to the increase in fur from China. Instead I think its down to consumer choice, its about us saying we don't want this and us supporting brands and producers that do the right thing.
Faux fur has come a long way, to the point now that it is sometimes hard to tell if its real or fake, thus demonstrating we no longer need its real alternative. For me it's like the first time I tried cauldon veggie sausages against the real sausages. For me the veggie ones were better, cheaper and no animal were factory farmed to make it, so why would I now buy an alternative?
To put a positive spin on this post, I wanted to let you know that there are now ALOT of companies that care about the issue, who only use real faux fur, or refuse to sell the fur items that designers produce therefore reducing the platform to have access to the industry, Net-A-Porter are a prime example of this.
ASOS, Zara, Topshop, Anthropologie, Footlocker, Hollister, H&M, Nike, Kate Spade, Levis, Reiss, North Face, Patagonia and Urban Outfitters are to name but a few of the companies that also refuse to use fur. Supporting these companies instead of those who still sell fur is the best way, along with signing those petitions on the matter, just like the one Lucy Watson was involved with. So heres to the future and high end to designers following Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein into the 21st century where fur is no longer needed!
What do you think of the fur industry? Would you buy fur?
Love
Erin
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