Opinion: Compassion in vogue – How the ethical fashion movement is extending to animals
Written by Elise Burgess, Head of Communications at FOUR PAWS Australia
The rise in ethical fashion has progressed in leaps and bounds over recent years, with fashion-conscious consumers leading the charge towards a future where we can have our smart-cut blazers and feel good about it, too.
Last month, major global online retailer ASOS, which has 12.4 million active customers worldwide, announced that it is banning the sale of silk, cashmere and mohair products, having already banned fur and materials from threatened or endangered species.
An on-trend decision.
Over 890 huge fashion labels including H&M, Michael Kors, Gucci, and Armani have also committed to fur-free policies through the Fur Free Retailer global program, not only prioritising animal welfare and consumer demands, but also supporting an end to fur’s image as a ‘luxury’ item.
But this isn’t the 80s, I hear you ask, isn’t fur ‘over’ anyway? Shockingly, no.
To this day, millions of foxes, minks, rabbits and raccoon dogs are brutally farmed and slaughtered for their fur.
In fact, the global fur trade sources 95 percent of its fur from animals forced to live in small wire cages on fur farms. Animals trapped in these cages are denied any natural environment or the ability to express their instinctive behaviour.
At the end of their short lives, their death – by electrocution, gassing or breaking the neck – is as cruel as their keeping.
What’s more, some animals used for fur, such as foxes, have been selectively bred to produce extreme amounts of excess skin and therefore, more fur. As a result, these poor foxes suffer from heavily folded skin, severe eye infections and badly malformed feet.
In April this year, horrific images from a fox farm in Finland showed animals locked in tight cages and who could barely move due to all their excess skin. In the wild, polar foxes would normally reach a weight of roughly four kilos, but due to deliberate breeding for the largest possible amount of fur, these animals instead reach a weight of up to 20 kilos.
This can be as simple as not buying fur products or fashion items such as jackets or gloves with fur trim, or better yet, supporting Australian fashion retailers and brands who have committed to being fur-free. Check out the Fur Free Retailer list here.
FOUR PAWS Australia is the Australian representative of the global Fur Free Retailer program, and after listening to what compassionate Australians are saying, we want to help local brands and consumers to be a driving force for global animal protection in fashion.
Elise Burgess
To find out more about fur in fashion, check out FOUR PAWS Australia’s website today.
This opinion piece was published on Bare Essentials.
Elise Burgess
Head of CommunicationsM: 0423 873 382
FOUR PAWS Australia
GPO Box 2845
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Main Phone: 1800 454 228
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them.
Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, animals in fashion, farm animals, and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones.
With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.au