Today is international Fur Free Friday.

Fur and Fashion

In the beginning of time man used fur to cover himself. There was nothing else available at the time until man discovered how to weave cloth from plant and animal by-products like wool. 

Once the weaving process has been perfected, man used less and less fur for clothing purposes. This is until fur became a status symbol.

In certain early societies animal pelts and their by-products took on mystical or spiritual powers when worn by hunters or the ruling classes. In European societies luxury furs became associated with social stratification. In the last two centuries, the growing middle classes in Western Europe and in North America have developed a love for fashion furs as a way of expressing their social status, or to give themselves an ultra-modern look. Since the 1980s questions have been raised about the ethics of using animal products as entire species may have been wiped out by fashion (Lee, 2003, p. 254). Despite the efforts of anti-fur activists and their sensitizing campaigns associated with animal cruelty, the popularity of wrapping oneself in a “sensual second skin” continues to persist. Could it be that some people still believe in a hidden form of “contagious magic” when attired in fur or leather?

The growing demand for luxury and fashion furs by the nobility, the upper classes and the new mercantile classes over the centuries led to the opening of new trade routes and the establishment of fur trade monopolies. Beginning in the Twelfth Century, German traders had the monopoly of the highly coveted fur industry as they had access to the finest Russian furs, particularly ermine (the white winter coat of weasels). They became known as the masters of the fur trade (Durant, 1950. p. 833).

Fur and leather garments have become available to the masses in the last century, thanks to the advancement in technologies for processing pelts. However, luxury furs still confer a super wealthy cachet. Since the early 20th Century, the rising classes with disposable income have been demanding fur coats and garments dressed or trimmed with fur thus opening the market for less expensive furs such as muskrat, wolf, raccoon, hare, lamb, and others.

Fortunes have been made over the centuries from the exploitation of fur-bearing animals to satisfy human needs and vanities. The technological sophistication and application of artistic skills in the treatment of pelts have opened the doors to seductive new designs and styles. It would seem that the controversies surrounding the plight of animals in the 1980s-1990s may have created havoc on fur farms, but according to Lee (2003) the bulk of the consumers turned away their heads in indifference (p. 247). Since that period of time faux fur has become quite popular as an alternative to using animal skins for dress. However, as Lee (2003) explains, some people will argue that faux fur is a plastic product made from petroleum, which consumes natural resources, and it creates pollution in the manufacturing state (p. 277). Modern marketing strategies, rapid communication about new trends through the mass media, collective tastes, and the social environment suggest that fashion furs continue to have staying power.

Beginning in the 1920s, fashionable women were wearing ankle length fur coats with a tight fitting bottom, large fur collars, and very wide cuff sleeves. Coats fabricated out of long vertical strips of fur were quite popular. This silhouette remained in vogue up until around the 1960s (Hansen, 1956, p. 101).

According to Dyhouse (2011), in the 1930s fox became one of the most sought after furs. Wealthy women and the glamorous film stars were usually seen wearing mega white or grey fox coats. For example, in 1932, Lili Damita was dolled up in fox in the movie, the Match King, and in 1933, Mae West and Gertrude Michael were wrapped in white fox in the film, I’m no Angel (Fur Glamor, 2011). The film stars loved to show off their full length ermine and white fox coats when attending the Oscars. In 1931, for instance, Marie Dressler looked fabulous in an ermine coat which she wore over her black lace dress. In 1935, Claudette Colbert had a luxurious white fur coat draped on her arm when she accepted her award from Shirley Temple (Chase, 2003, p. 18, 25, 121).

In the 1960s, animal right activists began a campaign to sensitize the public regarding the plight of animals and the cruelties they suffer at fur farms. Their efforts appear to have had an impact on the conscience of a number of consumers. In the 1970s, fur coats were beginning to lose their appeal. As a result, the fur industry suffered financial losses. In the United States, for example, a number of companies such as Antonvich International, Inc., Alper-Richman, Furs, Ltd., and Fur Vault, Inc., found themselves facing bankruptcy (Evans Inc., 1998; Schneider, 2012; Tortora & Eubank, 2010, p. 584).

A number of animals were facing extinction, particularly leopards. But, there are indications that the wealthy and powerful still had an insatiable appetite for these rare skins. In 1962, Jackie Kennedy wore a leopard-skin coat to meet with the U.S. Ambassador to Rome. In the same time period Queen Elizabeth II and the film star Elizabeth Taylor were seen wearing the spots (Lee 2003, p. 259). The pressures exerted on governments by animal right activists led to the passing of Endangered Species Acts in a number of countries. In the United States, Congress passed such an Act in 1973, and in 1979 the U.S. banned the import of leopard skins from Africa altogether (Lee, 2003, p. 254; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2011).

Regarding the plight of animals, Goddard (2011) explains that Canada presently has some of the world’s best regulated, best managed, and ecologically sustainable “humane trapping and farming practices.” Several provinces now have acts governing the treatment of animals (see, for instance, Ontario Nature, 2011; Nova Scotia: NS Endangered Species Act, 2011).

Despite the efforts of animal right activists since the 1960s to develop a public awareness regarding the plight of animals and to question the wearing of fur, there are still segments of society who refuse to shed their glamorous, sexy animal skins. Fashion furs continue to symbolize wealth and prestige, but they are no longer restricted to the super wealthy. In the October 2000 cover of American Vogue the heading proclaimed, “Fabulous Furs: The Look of the Moment” reminding readers that the fur coat is still an essential element in many closets (in Lee, 2003, p. 249).

The fur industry has become a major global economic industry since the opening of vast Asian fur markets in China, Korea, and Russia. We can therefore assume that the demand for North American animal pelts will continue to increase in the future. Goddard (2011) predicts that fur prices will likely continue to hit record-highs, and according to Mark Kaufman Furs NY (2011), the overall increase of 12 percent on the cost of skins in 2011 means that “the consumer will see a 50% increase on the fur portion of the garment in 2012.”

100 MILLION+ fur-bearing animals, including man’s best friend and feline companion, are brutally murdered without mercy for the barbaric and cruel fur trade every year at the hands of industry with no respect for life. This annual count does not include rabbits, which the United Nations reports to be at least 1 BILLION killed each year solely for their fur, which is used in clothing, as lures in fly-fishing, and for trim on craft items, even trinkets.

China is the world’s largest supplier of animal skins and the mecca of the dog and cat fur trade, a largely unknown animal protection issue.  More than 95 percent of China’s finished fur garments are exported for sale overseas, and more than half are sold in the United States.

No federal humane slaughter law or restrictions exist to protect animals and killing methods are gruesome, resulting in unbearable torment and excruciating deaths of innocent animals who watch their fellow cage mates as they are brutally killed in front of their innocent eyes.

The globalization of the fur trade has made it impossible to know where fur products come from.  Even if a fur garment’s label says it was made in a European country, the animals were likely raised and slaughtered elsewhere – in a majority of the cases, on an unregulated Chinese fur farm.

Contrary to fur industry propaganda, fur production destroys the environment. The amount of energy needed to produce a real fur coat is approximately 20X more than needed to produce a fake fur garment, nor is fur biodegradable due to the chemical treatment applied to stop the skins from rotting. The process of using these chemicals is also dangerous because it causes water contamination.

 You be the judge.