Although I am guilty of owning a hand full of leather products, the thought of innocent creatures being slaughtered for their fur brings me great discomfort. In my fashion class, our class textbook says that the leather and fur industries are a by-product of the meat packing industry. Yes, this is true but with further analysis, we know that most animals that belong to the meat packing industry mostly include chickens, cows, and pigs. While a percentage of leathers and furs come from livestock that will be used to provide food as well, the dark reality is that majority of animals that are used for leathers and furs are raised for that sole purpose. Some arguments that can be made for using genuine over faux is that the chemicals used for producing faux leathers and furs are more harmful to the environment than using animals. In addition, since artificially produced items tend to wear and tear more easily this increases the rate at which these products end up in the landfills. With this being said, I still do my best to avoid buying genuine fur or leather products for there is a broad array of vegan alternatives.
A trend that has been changing the game of fashion is the raised awareness of animal cruelty. Animal right activists have had an active role in protecting the innocent lives of animals since the beginning of the leather and fur industry itself but gained momentum in the 1970’s. The young adults of this era was a unique generation for that they did not hesitate to challenge what they believed to be wrong, i.e. animal cruelty, the war, LGBTQ rights. This attitude of anti-animal cruelty continued and in March of 1980, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was organized. There are still countless clothing and accessory brands that use genuine leather and fur for their products but many brands have opted to using faux materials in hopes of increasing sales and/or being kind to the fellow creatures of the earth.
Some well-known brands that are anti-fur include Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Giorgio Armani, and countless others. What came as a shock to me is just how young this trend is. The majority of these brands have only just declared themselves anti-fur within the past year and has even gone as far as declaring it for their future collections. A catalyst of this movement for brands that have chosen this path in the recent months began in October when Gucci announced that the Italian house was taking a stand against animal fur. The anti-fur movement has ebbed and flowed for decades though. In 1994, Calvin Klein stopped using fur and PETA released an anti-fur campaign that caught the attention of many. Supermodels including Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington, claimed they would “rather go naked than wear fur.”
Femme Fatale 