The horrors of the fur industry are well-documented and not a secret. The cruel fate of the animals bred (or trapped) for fur has been widely reported for many years and while we have made progress in eliminating the fur trade altogether, it’s still with us.
Did I ever wear fur? When I was 16, my parents gave me a special coat that had fur trim. I felt glamorous wearing it and I loved it. At the time I had no clue about the plight of animals in the food or beauty industry and it wasn’t until years later that I began to understand how evil the fur industry truly is.
Knowing what I’ve learned since then, I have never purchased fur (that includes shearling) of any kind.
But what about vintage fur and faux fur. What’s their story?
As we are heading towards winter and the cold temperatures, information about fur of all kinds feels timely.
Check out this short article from Friends of Animals that explains it all. https://friendsofanimals.org/vintage-fur-tries-to-create-distance-from-cruelty-but-dead-is-dead/
Then check out my P.S. below for my thoughts on faux fur.
***
P.S. You’ve probably seen me wear some soft, cozy faux fur, especially in an animal print or fun color. I don’t buy a lot of it, but when I do, the one thing I try very hard to do is make sure whatever faux fur I’m wearing looks FAUX. As the article shares, “… for better and/or worse, the look of fur is alive and well, especially as the technology to produce synthetic fur garments has been perfected to the point where it’s hard to tell the difference between faux and the real thing—a confusing problem animal advocates, perhaps, did not anticipate as we all celebrated their creation.”
Be sure to read the full article above for more details not only about faux fur but about vintage fur which has had resurgence especially with younger people.
P.P.S. If you are worried about the manufacturing of faux fur and the damage to the environment, please note that animal-based materials are not as ‘natural’ as they want us to believe so neither one is particularly environmentally friendly. But, that fact aside, there are some amazing next gen materials being developed by companies like https://bio-fluff.com/ which is exciting to watch!
P.P.P.S. In case you missed it, be sure to check out some of the fun, faux fur options I shared in the Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered Trend Update: https://hueandstripe.com/catalog/105H-SDhAFHrEb
