Is this the end for real fur?

London Fashion Week recently became the first global fashion week to ban animal fur.
Campaigners were euphoric. In the past year, fur has faced significant challenges everywhere,
but still – it was quite a moment. Then, a few weeks later, Los Angeles voted to ban the
manufacture and sale of fur within city limits, becoming the largest American city to do so. Has
fur – fashion’s most controversial material – finally had its day?

People don't want to see [real] fur; it’s come to symbolise a selfishness they don’t want to
endorse – Wendy Higgins

Films such as Klatki have uncovered the devastating lives of animals on European fur farms.
“Fur is immoral, cruel and barbaric – it is an industry that capitalises on death,” says a call-to-
action on McCartney’s website.

Why is fashion moving so fast to distance itself from fur now? “Increasingly, consumers expect
brands to demonstrate social responsibility, sustainability and animal welfare; the fur-free
movement is part of that zeitgeist,” says Wendy Higgins, media director for Humane Society
International. “People don't want to see fur; it’s come to symbolise a selfishness they don’t
want to endorse. That realisation by designers like Gucci has created a domino effect.”

Ethical luxury

For Hannah Weiland, founder of British-based technicolour faux-fur label Shrimps, the
standard of new faux is the key to its longevity. “When I launched in 2013, there weren’t any
high-quality options,” she remembers. “As soon as people felt our faux, they were impressed.
And that makes the argument for real fur much harder.” Plus, this is fashion made to last.
“These are coats you’re going to wear for multiple seasons, even pass down,” says Canter.
“They’re luxe products.”

Meanwhile, consumers keen to do the right thing are left at a loss: go faux for the animals – or
go real for the planet? No contest, says Higgins. “All materials we use in fashion have some
kind of eco-footprint – including fur,” she points out. “And the impact of fur production can't
be overstated, from CO2 emissions and manure runoff on fur farms, to the cocktail of
chemicals used in fur dressing and dyeing. Fur is far from earth-friendly.”

“Don’t get distracted,” adds Canter. “There are loads of studies showing that real fur is actually
much more harmful to the environment than faux. The fur industry has a billion dollars to
spend on advertising. They’re smart, they’re worried and they have a lot of people crafting [its]
message. So far, it’s been extremely effective.”

At the same time, today’s best faux-fur designers are making real efforts to help the planet.
Canter’s brand works with organic and sustainable materials wherever possible, and makes
everything locally.